None of this attention has produced the paintings.
The FBI remains officially optimistic. The museum remains officially patient. The reward stands at $10 million. The empty frames hang in the Dutch Room.
—
## The Case as It Stands
The current state of the Gardner investigation, as of late 2026, is this:
The FBI and the museum believe that George Reissfelder and Leonard DiMuzio entered the museum on March 18, 1990 and physically carried out the theft. Both men are dead. The FBI believes that the theft was organized by a network of Boston-area criminals associated with the Patriarca organized crime structure, with Carmello Merlino likely playing a central organizing role. Merlino is dead. The FBI believes that the stolen works passed through criminal hands in Connecticut and Philadelphia in the years after the theft. Robert Guarente, a figure connected to that movement, is dead. Robert Gentile, who allegedly received two of the paintings from Guarente, denied possession and died in 2021 without providing useful information.
The FBI has credible sightings for five of the thirteen stolen works and no credible sightings for the remaining eight. No piece has been recovered. No arrest has been made. No one has ever been charged with the Gardner theft.
The statutory exposure for the original theft has run. Charges could still be brought for current possession of stolen property. The $10 million reward remains available under conditions that the museum has described as including protection from prosecution for return of the works under certain circumstances.