Sragows efforts to convince the Massachusetts Legislature to compensate Reissfelder for the 16 years he had served in jail for the wrongful conviction failed, however. At the time of his death, Bill Russell was married to Jeannine. In interviews with the Sunday Herald and Fox TVs Americas Most Wanted, Richard C. Reissfelder, 66, said he saw the famed painting Chez Tortoni by Edouard Manet being displayed by his late brother, George. TURNER: I've seen memos that they sent directly to, uh, the director of the FBI saying that they believe I was a participant. I always fought back. The other had none, and defaulted to one. Maybe a couple more years down the line having a couple of little ones running around. And in those cases it generally means cooperation. And then there was a home invasion robbery that happened in 1990 where allegedly Turner and Pappas came and invaded the home of this couple, and made off with $130,000 in cash and jewelry. For seven years, I was . A Quincy man eyed as a fresh suspect in the 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist had one of the museums 13 stolen works of art in his possession shortly before his death in 1991, his younger brother told the Herald. It wasnt long after his release that Kerrys poster boy continued his criminal ways, quickly involving himself with a Mafia-controlled drug ring in Boston. In details of David Turners alleged robberies, it was hard to miss the hallmarks of the Gardner heist. Of course they didn't have anything with Merlino because he waited outside the museum in a van, you know, and a walkie talkie keeping, you know, as a lookout. You know, you gravitate to the people that you know. Because I realized at that point-- I thought maybe they'd steal maybe up to five million dollars at the most, but when it turned out to be hundreds of millions, I said, "You know what type of investigation this is going to be compared to what it would have been?". That would be nice. RODOLICO:In a letter dated Oct. 26, 2003, Turner proposes that Blanding write a book about his life. Credit card receipts. So, he backed off. At the . Although Kerry would use the case to promote his then-budding political career, Reissfelder went in the opposite direction, returning to his bad habits of using cocaine and hanging out with criminal contacts, both of which were in full supply at Merlinos garage. And it's remarkable. And about 5'10", maybe 170, -75 pounds. In 2010, Jeannine was ranked 15th place during the CN Canadian Women's Tour. And he said, "You can't leave me. He was a cool customer, as they say. Yes, he had that painting and I want to give it to Anthony Amore as a present., Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Bruins knock off Panthers for 1-0 series lead, Fans pour on the enthusiasm for the 127th Boston Marathon, Pentagon revokes access, culling through lists to highly classified information after Massachusetts Guardsman Jack Teixeira accused of leak, Man charged with shooting Black teen at front door, Ex-Cardinal McCarrick charged with sex abuse, DeSantis ups ante in Disney fight, floats nearby prison, After Massachusetts Guardsman Jack Teixeira allegedly leaked Pentagon documents, military expert calls it 'a failure by leadership', Bruins notebook: Patrice Bergeron sits out Game 1 vs. Panthers, Live Updates: Hellen Obiri wins women's race at 127th Boston Marathon, Martin Richard's friends get ready to run the Boston Marathon in his honor 10 years later: 'Carrying Martin's message of peace', Two missing Medford men found dead in Brighton storage unit, Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev sues Colorado supermax for $250,000, Golden galore at Boston Common: Hundreds of golden retrievers gather in honor of Spencer, the Boston Marathon dog, Lucas: Democrats' choice of Chicago recalls a divided America, Gunmen storm Mexican resort, kill 7 people, including a child, California is changing how it goes after illegal cannabis farms, Caught off guard: How South Floridas rare storm compares to others, and where it sits in history, The final encore for Phantom: What the show means to one New Yorker who saw it dozens of times, For Varland brothers, now both in the MLB at same time, a dream come true. Their criminal pastimes overlapped, too. Fred Reissfelder. Bowl haircut. RODOLICO: So, four years before the Boston FBI sting on TRC Auto Electric that would finally put David Turner in prison, Robert Sikellis, who had tried and failed twice to do so, had an epiphany about Turners alleged robberies: They looked an awful lot like the Gardner heist, but on a much smaller scale. And George Reissfelder is, I guess, a prime suspect in the robbery, the theft. Even as that documentary aired, Santos was trying to find the courage to leave Reissfelder. At Boston Celtics, Bill Reissfelder has 25 colleagues including Wycliffe Grousbeck (CEO), Irving Grousbeck (Managing Partner) Industry Colleagues In the Sports industry, Bill Reissfelder has 10,918 colleagues in 650 companies located in 26 countries. TYSONS CORNER, Va., Jan. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pangiam, a technology company defining the future of authentication and trusted movement, announced the . I married a beautiful young girl. So I just became a prisoner for six, seven years., HORAN: George Reissfelder had an altogether different take on his life with Santos. Im truly struck by how earnest he and his entire family have been, Amore said. Undisclosed sources in the investigation believed that the thieves the FBI identified were George Reissfelder and Leonard DiMuzio, both involved in the Merlino gang and both deceased shortly after the robbery in 1991. Within 11 years, the former Jamaica Plain resident was found dead of cocaine poisoning in his Quincy apartment, in March 1991, according to police. And seemed wholly uninterested and unconcerned with what was going on around him although he was not-- not-- not a dumb person, that's for sure. Pappas himself is also a person of interest in the Gardner case see Meet the Suspects for April 6. HORAN: But Janice Santos didnt become the states first female helicopter pilot. In her book, Seinfeldia, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong gives the full story . BOSER: The most curious thing that happened with me and David was that he-- he wrote me this letter where he included this poem and essentially said, you know, he did not commit the Gardner theft, but he did want to be on the cover of my book. He's in a tough position, right? Richard Reissfelder appears with Gardner museum director of security Anthony Amore, who holds up a picture of one of the stolen paintings. But the one detail that Beauchamp has never changed is who he says, did it: Carmello Merlino, David Turner and George Reissfelder. But, Steve says, there is one for two days after March 20. You decide to look into George Reissfelder deeper. So my name is Janice Santos. SANTOS: There were none. Reissfelder, who bore a remarkable resemblance to the sketch drawn of one of the thieves, died of a cocaine overdose in July 1991. You know somewhere on the outside, standing guard? And so right away I was intrigued by it and wrote right back to the person who wrote me the letter, which was a fellow by the name of David Turner. It's Boston local news in one concise, fun and informative email. It was Oct. 16, 1982, and Santos was in the Army National Guard. HORAN: Ulrich Boser says that while David Turner had to deny involvement in the Gardner heist, he seemed unable to keep from insinuating that he knew something about it. It was painted between 1878 and 1880. Reissfelders late brother George made headlines in 1982 when he was freed from prison after serving 16 years for a murder he did not commit. One of them had options and from them, chose a life of crime. KELLY HORAN: This is the story of two men. We were unable to subscribe you to WBUR Today. I don't want to take any blame for the Gardner. When law enforcement couldnt locate Reissfelder, a local mobster told the cops to try his residence again. DAVID TURNER: Um, you know, actually I had nothing to do with the robbery. Reissfelder died of a cocaine overdose in 1991. Over the course of a correspondence that spanned several years, Turner proposed that Blanding write a book about his life. Reissfelder is the first person to claim hes seen the stolen Manet since it was filched from the Gardners ground-floor Blue Room. One of the Boston detectives was John Ridlon, the uncle Charles O. Pappas, another member of Merlinos crew. Merlino was in fact questioned by the FBI about the whereabouts of the Gardner art on the day of his arrest. Investigates Possible Suspects In America's Biggest Art Heist. BEAUCHAMP: And they started a major cocaine operation for years. BLANDING: Eventually, and I should say allegedly, David was involved with a number of more serious crimes. RODOLICO: Robert Beauchamp and George Reissfelder were lovers. display: none; They showed David Turner was in Florida on March 15, three days before the robbery. The publicity was mostly because of the legal defense work of John F. Kerry, and Kerrys law partner. You make a note in your casebook, and go back to reading the witness statements and looking at the suspect sketches. RODOLICO: So, who is David Turner? Last month, state prisoner Robert C. Beauchamp, 59, publicly made claims through his attorney that George Reissfelder might have stashed the stolen Gardner art in a safe house in Maine. Drug deals, illegal weapons, armored car heists, murder. HORAN: In one scene, Santos walks behind Reissfelder, her head down. At the time, organized crime members seemed excited about the idea that they could trade a stolen painting in exchange for no jail time, if they were ever caught doing more unsavory business. He was buying spy equipment from a Miami shop called the Spy Shops of Miami. Now a disgraced ex-fed, Connolly is in federal prison for a racketeering and obstruction of justice convictions stemming from his relationship with James Whitey Bulger and others. View George Reinsfelder's 1940 US census record to find family members, occupation details & more. I'm just saying the work of art looked exactly like George to the point where we had a police uniform photoshopped onto him, and you hold the two and he looks exactly like this composite work of art. Thirty-three years after two thieves, dressed like police officers, talked their way into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, tied up two guards, and fled with masterpieces estimated to be worth. WITNESS: Anthony M. Amore, left, director of security at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, with Richard Reissfelder, who says his brother had the stolen Manet. George A Reissfelder. KURKJIAN: Well, the Spy Store had all sorts of James Bond-type equipment. No one would be happy about it, but you woulda thought, you know, once they had arrested us and, you know, the paintings didn't show up, you know, they would have gotten reasonable with us. Reissfelder family history, genealogy, and family tree. According to news report published two months before Reissfelders release, four Boston police detectives and Special Agent John J. Connolly of the Boston FBI office quoted informants as telling them that Sullivan and at least two other men none of them Reissfelder were involved in the holdup. More than a decade before, he had drawn front-page headlines and network TV interviews when he was freed from prison after serving 16 years on the wrongful conviction of a murder charge. RODOLICO: From WBUR Boston and The Boston Globe, this is Last Seen. Like I said, he could have changed, but the guy that I was married to could not have done that. And, um, when she unveiled these portraits to me, and she brought up one of the images the thief with the slimmer face I looked at it and said, "Wow, that's George Reissfelder." And when he got out, he was denied compensation for his wrongful conviction. Last November the Patriot Ledger reported that a new book on the famed 1990 Gardner Museum heists implicated a Quincy resident, the late George Reissfelder, and media reports today have his. to Henry & Helen (Tully) Reissfelder. George Reissfelder, on the other hand, left prison in 1982 after serving 16 years for a murder he didnt commit. AMORE: He spent a long time 16 years in the country's toughest prison for something he hadn't done. He doesn't have access to the paintings or he'd be out of prison. HORAN: Reissfelder had not only lost 16 years of his life in prison. The tension between those who possess the Old Masters, and those who would risk everything to steal them. But what if he could lead them to the stolen Gardner art? The following year, her divorce would come through, and her ex-husband would join a cast of men named in connection to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum robbery. And know he would have. They were never able to pin Turner to the crime, however. I found receipts. Easy. She left the museum with a $3.6 million endowment, and her will stipulated that the . Ive seen it. Reissfelder said he recognized his brothers appearance in the digital painting the Herald is calling Suspect One. Nicole C. Wolf, a medical illustrator and animator, prepared the image after weeks of input from one of the two Gardner watchmen who was on duty the night of the theft. The other wasnt. HORAN: David Turners rap sheet is both long and incomplete. After Kerry and Sragow won him a new trial, then-Suffolk County District Attorney Newman Flanagan decided against re-trying the case against Reissfelder. KURKJIAN: It showed he was turning in a vehicle, a rental car, at the Fort Lauderdale airport, and using his credit card to pay for that vehicle. Maria was adopted by another family many years ago, and has changed her name from Reissfelder. Thats when it really dawned on me. Last time, we told you about the FBI sting in 1999 that brought Merlino and that criminal enterprise down. In a case prosecuted by Sikellis in 1995, Turner was acquitted of pulling off a late night robbery of Bostons famed restaurant Cheers. You have been subscribed to WBUR Today. Writing from prison, Turner expressed his belief that the FBI had set him up for one crime -- the planned Loomis Fargo heist -- in order to squeeze him on another: the Gardner. She is also a former professional golfer. Anthony Amore says Reissfelder had few prospects. RODOLICO: Way too much, George. I'm not saying George Reissfelder committed the heist. In 2014, the FBI identified the culprits present at the museum as George Reissfelder and Lenny DiMuzio, who both died within a year of the notorious robbery. And when these two men met, the lucky one was young and handsome and had also, it is alleged, gotten away with murder. Yeah. Bill Reissfelder is a husband, father, and family man. This is David Turner, on a lousy phone line from prison, after his luck had run out. RODOLICO: In the late 1980s, David Turner and George Reissfelders lives in crime converged. But not before he shared a few poems about him written by a fellow inmate. It is still the most famous art crime in American history. It was also being surveilled by a law enforcement operation that would take it down in 1991. And why were the Boston FBI agents who arrested him so convinced that he knew something about the Gardner heist, they offered him a get out of jail free card to talk? There was a robbery of the Bull & Finch pub, the Cheers you know, the pub that serves as the model for Cheers. The FBI claims Gentile tried to sell the paintings to an undercover FBI agent but the mobster denies any involvement. And there are others that dont. You have to be really planned and articulate. Reissfelder was a 26-year-old father with a criminal record for armed robbery, domestic abuse against his wife and passing bad checks when he was fingered for the Oct. 14, 1966, shooting death of railway clerk Michael Shaw. All this negative publicity. My brother did it. Thats because Turner was one of the men, alongside Carmello Merlino, arrested in that early morning Loomis-Fargo vault sting on TRC Auto Electric. When I see this I have the same reaction every time. And, uh, so then he grabbed me by the throat and started choking me. The other had none, and defaulted to one. SIKELLIS: And unfortunately, by the time we sensed any connection to the Gardner Museum, Pappas was dead. And that's what happened. Thats what Boston Globe reporter Shelley Murphy wondered in 2016, when she made a sharp discovery. The car in from of the museum says guilty. The two men were both dead, and their names would not be announced publicly ( though some have identified them as George Reissfelder and Lenny DiMuzio, who belonged to a criminal crew run by. Jeannine and Bill often played golf together according . Beauchamp is just trying to extort money over a robbery and a dead body, Richard Reissfelder said. When he was hauled in on drug-dealing charges, Pappass best option to avoid prison time was to flip on Turner. Thank you! for 35 years before retiring. She worked solely off the description given to her by one of the guards who had seen both thieves. What did you see in him? He was employed as a milkman for H.P. So the question is, whether they went through with that idea and now share the distinction of taking part in the greatest art heist in history. One of them had options and from them, chose a life of crime. They told me they had information from several sources that I was an actual participant in the robbery. He went through her stuff, looking for evidence that he couldnt trust her. He believes his brother would not have associated with the likes of Merlino if he had been compensated by the state for his wrongful imprisonment. Why would a judge shave that time off the sentence of a man suspected in an at least one unsolved murder? A day after top House Democrats released their $56.2 billion budget plan for next fiscal year, the branch on Thursday whisked to passage a $1.1 billion tax relief bill that also makes statutory changes to the state's tax cap law and rainy day fund. AMORE: I always start with "[Christ In The] Storm On The Sea Of Galilee," which is the one that's most commonly recognized by people. Two of his closest associates have long been on the radar of those looking into the heist. 10: Daughter: Irene Reinsfelder. What did he look like back then and, you know, what drew you to him? As I had said to him at the time, "Worst you're gonna do is wound me. Both thieves were dead within a year of their breathtaking crime. HORAN: In 2009, Anthony Amore, working with the Boston Herald newspaper, hired a forensic medical artist to redo the police sketches of the Gardner heist suspects. This one in particular really caught my attention because it mentioned the Gardner Museum robbery. It was during the period that George Reissfelder was associating with Merlino that his brother said he saw Chez Tortoni.. Bill Reissfelder Sales Operations at Klaviyo . That's not how it works. Doubtful the thief took off his hat to show his unique hair style to the two Gardner guards. His mother died. father Anna Reifelder mother Anna Catharina Reifelder sister view all Johannes Reifelder's Timeline And heres someone who spent years trying to follow the trail of both of them. He was 51 and has never been formally connected to the theft. This episode was adapted for the web by Amy Gorel. Crime boss Carmello Merlino, who we met in the last episode, was hardly the last best suspect to come out of a crew of criminals based in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood. In 1990, two men stole 13 works of art valued at approximately $500 million dollars from a Boston Museum. Turner has denied repeatedly to reporters and in court that he had any knowledge of the heist, but he associated with known felons whose names had been tied to the crime including Robert Guarente, Carmello Merlino and Stephen Rossetti. So that's when we started talking about getting some crime insurance, figuring that that was going to happen sooner or later. This has badly upset my family. According to both men, Reissfelder immediately recognized the Manet painting, which depicts a formally dressed man sitting at a table outside the Tortoni cafe in Paris. He turned down our request for an interview, but Ulrich Boser spoke with him in 2007. Don't talk. RODOLICO: Over the years, Beauchamp has told many versions of his theory about the Gardner heist and the whereabouts of the paintings. Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren travels to Italy to share player tracking techniques with soccer club Atalanta. He was serving a 47-year sentence for his role in a planned 1999 armored car depot heist in Easton. In hopes of gaining consideration for his own release, Beauchamp has cooperated with the FBI and the museum in their search for a recovery. He was represented by U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry, who was then a private attorney, and attorney Roanne Sragow Licht, who is now a District Court judge. After his release, George Reissfelder associated with Carmello Merlino, an organized crime boss and drug lord whom he met in prison. And he had never seen it, and had never seen "The Concert." HORAN: Charlie Pappas had been shot twice in the mouth. BEAUCHAMP: When he came to see me after the Gardner robbery I just looked at him and shook my head and said, "Way too much, George." Several sources say that the franchise's CFO was spotted at several Celtics events with his family. HORAN: Now, David Turner has always said hed never cooperate with authorities investigating the Gardner heist. Hear Michael Blanding read from one of them, The Sting, here: Former Assistant Massachusetts Attorney General. And you know, it's frustrating. like follow. HORAN: But someone else could have. George Reissfelder. The target would be the true crime, artsy type., Let me know what you think. I sort of grew to believe that there was always some sort of angle that he was working. His wife allegedly told the FBI in 2010 that her husband confessed he gave two of the paintings to alleged Connecticut mobster Robert Gentile, now in his eighties. Theres only one reason for it, according to the Bureau of Prisons: because he cooperated. Of all the men floated as possible suspects in the Gardner heist, no one is more of a dead ringer. I just want this crime against civilization to be solved, Reissfelder said. Their license was verified as active when we last . It's Boston local news in one concise, fun and informative email. BLANDING: When I was a staff writer at Boston Magazine, I received a letter from a prisoner. Were there many female helicopter pilots at the time in Massachusetts? And I don't think he could have done it, but--. You have been subscribed to WBUR Today. All these theories are frustrating. In 2015, the organization revealed the names of its primary suspects: George Reissfelder and Leonard DiMuzio, two associates of the late mobster Carmello Merlino. HORAN: Wow. Robert Beauchamp says the TRC gang was flying too close to the sun. George A Reissfelder, 83. BEAUCHAMP:Yeah, a couple of times we had Mexican standoffs, and the only reason that he backed down was both times I had a .357 and he only had a small .22 or .25 automatic. And he said, "My brother did it. They had all sorts of -- at the day non-digital devices, electronic devices, that could look over the fence. MURPHY: The FBI has said they believe the two thieves that actually went in are dead. You could trade the paintings to, you know basically make a Hollywood film, right? The tests were inconclusive. They also learned that, just a year into Reissfelders sentence, the real killer had made a deathbed confession exonerating him. Guarente's wife claimed he gave two of the paintings to Connecticut mobster Robert Gentile, but in February 2021 Gentile seemed to deny any involvement with the heist. SANTOS: A helicopter. Get popped. Several years later, Mr. Kelly and Mr. Amore said, informants drew their attention to two associates of Mr. Merlino, George A. Reissfelder and Leonard V. DiMuzio. RODOLICO:That first letter started a correspondence between Blanding and Turner that lasted for several years. (Photo by Joseph Runci/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) BLANDING: You know, I talked to several of his childhood friends who said he was just, you know, really intelligent, and charismatic, and loyal. AMORE: And I replied and said, On a scale of one to 10, how certain are you? And the person replied, 10.. The other one was middle aged and beaten down and had done hard time for a murder he didnt commit. JANICE SANTOS: OK. They're gonna sell out their mothers to get out of jail. RODOLICO: But the reason the Boston FBI was so interested in David Turner in the first place is because of other crimes he is alleged to have gotten away with. He had that painting.". By his own account, Amore still speaks at least daily with Geoffrey Kelly, the top FBI agent on the case, and works with him to pursue leads, conduct interviews, communicate with reporters, art investigators and even members of the public about the case. Beauchamp remained on the lam for a decade before being caught. BEAUCHAMP: It was a homosexual relationship. Composite at left shows digitally aged rendering of one of the thieves. Hood & Sons in Charlestown, Mass. Because one of his accomplices from TRC had brought along a hand grenade for the Loomis-Fargo vault heist, David Turner had also received a long sentence. Would they let him go? Reissfelder was a 26-year-old father with a criminal record for armed robbery, domestic. HORAN: Reissfelder was vicious to Santos. Santos likened the seven years she spent with George Reissfelder to being his prisoner. He had jealous rages and beat Santos, and he barred her from reporting for military duty. HORAN: George Reissfelder does resemble the police artists sketch of one of the suspects. BOSER:At the heart of this case is a question mark: We don't know where the paintings are. These are five hundred million dollars worth of art that's stolen. Donna told me, I distinctly recall that painting the man in the high hat, Reissfelder said. KURKJIAN: I went looking for documents. HORAN: Robert Beauchamp says that when Reissfelder was released in 1982, Merlino was waiting for him with a job at TRC Auto Electric. He is running on the 2018 Republican ticket for the office of Secretary of State in Massachusetts. If it was because of some new federal sentencing guideline, you know, decision it would be detailed in the record.