Reputed Manchester Mobster Enters Plea in Gun Case

MANCHESTER, CT — A reputed mobster from Manchester has entered a plea in a federal case of supervised release violations and firearms offenses, a leading prosecutor said.

Deirdre M. Daly, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced Thursday that Robert Gentile, 80, of Manchester, entered a guilty plea in Hartford federal court to federal firearm offenses, and also admitted that he violated the conditions of his supervised release from a prior federal conviction.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on February 10, 2012, Gentile was arrested after a federal investigation had revealed that he was involved in the illegal distribution of prescription narcotics.

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 Daly.

Gentile pleaded guilty to federal drug and firearm offenses and, on May 9, 2013, was sentenced to 30 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, she said.

On March 2, 2015, while on supervised release, Gentle 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, Daly said.

The sale occurred at Gentile's residence, where the revolver had been hidden in a couch cushion, she said.

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, Daly said.

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, Daly 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, she said.

On Thursday, Gentile pleaded guilty to one count of possession of ammunition by a previously convicted felon, which is contained in the April 2015 indictment, Daly said.

He also pleaded guilty to one count of possession of firearms by a previously convicted felon and one count of possession of an unregistered silencer, both of which are contained in the May 2016 indictment, Daly said.

Daly added that Gentile admitted that he violated the terms and conditions of his supervised release.

Gentile, who has been detained, is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny on Aug. 25, 2017, at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment 10 years on each count, and additional penalties for violating his supervised release.

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. Read more about the heist here.

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