Art Heist 'Person of Interest' Sentenced on Gun Charges

MANCHESTER, CT — A reputed mobster who is a "person of interest" in an infamous art Heist in 1990 was sentenced on Tuesday to four-and-a-half years in prison on gun charges, a leading prosecutor said.

John H. Durham, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, said that Ronert Gentile, 81, of Manchester, was sentenced on Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to 54 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for firearm offenses, and for violating the conditions of his supervised release from a prior federal conviction.

Judge Chatigny ordered GENTILE to serve the first six months of his supervised release in home confinement.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on Feb. 10, 2012, Gentile was arrested after a federal investigation had revealed involvement in the illegal distribution of prescription narcotics, Durham said.

Subsequent court-authorized searches of Gentile’s Manchester residence resulted in the seizure of 200 Percocet tablets packaged for distribution, two .38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolvers, a .22 caliber North American Arms revolver, a .22 caliber derringer, a 12-gauge pistol-grip shotgun, numerous rounds of ammunition, boxes of 12-gauge shotgun shells, five handgun silencers, other items and approximately $22,000 in cash. according to case details.

Gentle entered a guilty plea to federal drug and firearm offenses and, on May 9, 2013, he was sentenced to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

On March 2, 2015, while on supervised release, Gentile sold a .38 Colt Cobra revolver, which was loaded with five rounds of Smith & Wesson .38 Special ammunition, for $1,000 to an individual he knew to be a convicted felon, Durham said.

The sale occurred at Gentile’s residence, where the revolver had been hidden in a couch cushion, the prosecutor indicated.
Gentile was arrested on a criminal complaint on April 17, 2015, and was ordered detained. On April 28, 2015, a grand jury returned an indictment charging him with possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, and sale of a firearm to a convicted felon.

On May 2, 2016, FBI special agents executed an unrelated federal search warrant at Gentile’s Manchester residence and seized a .22 caliber Browning semi-automatic pistol, a 9mm Walther semi-automatic pistol, a .380 caliber RPB Industries, M11-Al semi-automatic pistol, and an unregistered silencer, Durham said.

On May 24, 2016, a grand jury returned an indictment charging Gentile with one count of possession of firearms by a previously convicted felon, and one count of possession of an unregistered silencer.

On April 6, 2017, Gentile pleaded guilty to one count of possession of ammunition by a previously convicted felon, one count of possession of firearms by a previously convicted felon, and one count of possession of an unregistered silencer. He also admitted that he violated the terms and conditions of his supervised release, Durham said.

Judge Chatigny sentenced Gentile to 42 months of imprisonment for the three firearm offenses, and a consecutive 12 months of imprisonment for violating the conditions of his supervised release.
Gentile has been detained since his arrest on April 17, 2015, Durham said.

Gentile is a reputed mobster who the FBI acknowledges is a person of interest in the daring theft of classic paintings stolen from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990, a heist valued at $500 million by authorities.

One art historian at the University of Connecticut, when asked what the value might be, hinted that the paintings are priceless in some respects.

See more about the daring art heist here.

Photo Credit: Chris Dehnel