Night watchman Richard Abath may have made the most costly mistake in art history shortly after midnight on March 18, 1990. Police found him handcuffed and duct-taped in the basement of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum seven hours after he unwisely opened the thick oak door to two thieves who then stole 13 works of art valued at more than $500 million.
For years, investigators discounted the hapless Abath’s role in the unsolved crime, figuring his excessive drinking and pot smoking contributed to his disastrous decision to let in the robbers, who were dressed as police officers. Even if the duo had been real cops, watchmen weren’t supposed to admit anyone who showed up uninvited at 1:24 a.m.
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Wow, I'd say the museum has tremendous responsibility for this heist. If they had some credible security processes, and some HIRING sense, the theft would never have happened.
"Abath, then a rock musician moonlighting as a security guard, said he opened the doors that night because he was intimidated by men dressed as police officers who claimed to be investigating a disturbance. His own uniform untucked and wearing a cowboy hat, Abath knew he looked more like a suspect than a guard." This is the "security" for millions of dollars worth of priceless paintings? My mother always warned us when we looked for too good a bargain, "You get what you pay for." Check out those who hired this person as well. This heist has all the markings of a robbery assisted by one or more persons connected with the inner workings of the museum. Someone inside knew exactly how really unsecured this museum was.
PS. For those reading this article now please take time to read the Globe's several other excellently detailed and well writtenl articles about this art heist. As a young student at Boston State College in the '60's, during breaks between classes, I and several friends would often go to the nearby Isabella Gardner Museum for both appreciation of its artwork and the coolness it offered when the weather was hot. No classroom air conditioning back then. Although I can't remember the specific pieces of stolen artwork, I'm sure we gazed upon some of them at the time. Also our Art Appreciation Instructor held a few of his classes there and at the Boston Museum of Fine Art down the street. That instilled in this then art appreciation deprived Somerville "kid" a life long enjoyment of art. Still a nice place to visit lo these many years later. Nice musical events on some Sunday afternoons. Go, enjoy.
Now the robbery sounds like one of those simple plots from "Murder She Wrote." Too bad Columbo wasn't on the case. He'd have lasered in on Mr. Abath from the get-go and annoyed the living hell out of him until he admitted to a crime he didn't commit.
I believe the guard's denials.....he is consistent, cooperative and firm in his denial and there is no valid reason or any other piece of information I can see to suspect his involvement. Human frailty a case does not make. My warning to him is that some overzealous prosecutor may try to fit this square peg into a round hole. He should be probably be more careful about talking too much.
It's all so much nonsense. Authors writing books and making up things has become common in the Boston area. If the theives were such bunglers then the pictures taken would not have been so specific and valuable. That they spent 81 minutes is indicative that they only wanted certain things. I don't know why that is a mystery. The broken frames all part of a nights work. Myles was once a suspect. So was Whitey. Remember when the Herald reporter was led into a warehouse and allowed to taking scapings from one of the alleged stolen paintings and he was confident his sources were going to solve the case. If you want a mystery do you know who stole the first page of the original charter of Massachusetts from the state archives? His initials were MC. Do you know whre it is now? I do.
Kevin White is involved. He also has the Curley desk. If the FBI wasn't so busy burning down Waco building, these case should have been solved by now.
The Curley desk, or at least a desk that was in Curley's possession, was given by him to UMass (then Mass Aggie) president Hugh Baker. There's a copy of a thank-you letter in Baker's papers in Amherst.
To law enforcement, everyone is a suspect. And they never clear you of wrongdoing. They let it out that you're a suspect, allowing the possibility of involvement taint your reputation. If the crime goes unsolved, that taint remains forever. Sounds like Abath didn't participate in this heist. But Ortiz, desperate for some good publicity after a series of fiascos, says her office is making progress and isn't above reminding us that Abath remains a suspect.
It is rumored that the missing art work is either in the home of a former presidential candidate living in Belmont or in the home of a former state house employee receiving a large state pension living in South Boston, or in the residence of a former governor who liked his beer and gambling, or an attorney general who didn't like the standing out in the cold, or the guy who only visits Boston on XMas eve while riding in his sleigh, or...
Quit wasting my money chasing the stolen art! There is enough real crime for the FBI to follow. Let the museum hire it's own detectives.
Looks like this man has turned his life around -- good for him. Luckily his employer(s) didn't take the cop's allegations (defamation?) seriously and he has remained employed. That's a common tactic of law enforecement: to secretly undermine a suspects employment prospects as a way to punish a suspect for a crime the cops can't pin on him. Stay strong Mr. Abath! The Boston FBI will once again look like fools (for harassing you) once this crime is solved!