It was 17 years ago. Pappas himself is also a person of interest in the Gardner case see Meet the Suspects for April 6. SHELLEY MURPHY: I was hearing some things about whether or not he might cooperate. In 1990, two men stole 13 works of art valued at approximately $500 million dollars from a Boston Museum. And I figured, "Well, he just got out of prison. RODOLICO: Sikelliss break came in 1992, when a longtime friend and sometime accomplice of David Turners was swept up in the drug-trafficking sting on TRC Auto Electric. Over the years, the Herald has reported on several people who claimed to have access to a Rembrandt stolen the same night, The Storm on the Sea of Galilee. Those leads have never panned out. Not in person Turner was on a phone line from prison. My brother received stolen property. Charlie Pappas, Leonard "Lenny" DiMuzio and George Reissfelder, who all worked at Merlino's garage, were also under suspicion. The pair unearthed evidence that had been suppressed at trial. Doubtful the thief took off his hat to show his unique hair style to the two Gardner guards. It remains the most valuable art crime in the nation's history. Court records indicate surveillance photographs captured Reissfelder and Merlino together at the drug kingpins Dorchester auto body shop, TRC Auto Electric Co., where a $1-million-a-year cocaine ring was run. It in my mind represents so much of the city's respect for art and culture, its value of learning, and these sort of really richer ideas. JANICE SANTOS: OK. Drug deals, illegal weapons, armored car heists, murder. His mother died. In 2010, Jeannine was ranked 15th place during the CN Canadian Women's Tour. Reissfelder, a retired National Guard military policeman, became aware of the famed burglary after being contacted last year by Amore, who has run the investigation since 2005. The museum and the FBI have responded skeptically to Beauchamps claims about the art. Last year, Jason Alexander spoke about why George Costanza's fiance, Susan, was killed off on Seinfeld. And I noticed that the release date had changed. He is running on the 2018 Republican ticket for the office of Secretary of State in Massachusetts. I fought back. (Courtesy Boston Globe). RODOLICO: From WBUR Boston and The Boston Globe, this is Last Seen. After more than 28 years, authorities have yet to make an arrest, or recover any of the artwork stolen, in the Gardner Museum heist. The publicity was mostly because of the legal defense work of John F. Kerry, and Kerrys law partner. But, Steve says, there is one for two days after March 20. The shop was managed by crime figure Carmello Merlino. Hood & Sons in Charlestown, Mass. My book argued that David Turner and George Reissfelder were the individuals who robbed the museum. HORAN: Two months after George Reissfelders release, Janice Santos married him. Reissfelder spent nearly a third of his life in prisons before authorities finally cleared him of a murder charge and let him go free in 1982. Very stoic, very focused, very sure of himself. There was a murder of a gay social worker who gave Turner and Pappas a ride home from Provincetown, and he turned up dead that night. Jul 4, 1901 - Jun 1976 . And it's not. But his former sister-in-law, Donna Reissfelder, said in the docuseries that she may have unknowingly helped him hang one of the stolen paintings in his apartment. But the celebratory scene from his release date on Aug. 30, 1982, did not last for Reissfelder, then 42. At the time, Reissfelder was 49 and DiMuzio was 42. That's not how it works. BOSTON, MA - MAY 11: George Reissfelder sits in the office of his attorney Roanne Sragow at One Post Office Sq. Their paths converged in the late '80s at TRC Auto Electric in Merlino's cocaine business. There are clues that seem to let him off the hook. Yeah. HORAN: Someone else was waiting for George Reissfelder when he got out, too. Easy. He wouldn't let me go out on the weekends to go to drill, because, obviously, when I went to work, I was gonna screw around with somebody. Thank you! He was 51. And about 5'10", maybe 170, -75 pounds. 35: Daughter: Louise Reinsfelder. Steve doesnt know for sure, but he knows what it looks like. Seinfeld. At trial, Merlino argued that he was set up by the FBI because investigators believed the crime boss had access to the stolen Gardner art. ROBERT BEAUCHAMP: OK, I'm Robert Beauchamp. RODOLICO: So, who is David Turner? Clara J Reissfelder. Their BuildZoom score of 103 ranks in the top 10% of 139,240 Massachusetts licensed contractors. You know somewhere on the outside, standing guard? 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. HORAN:And running through this story, Boser says, is a tale of two cities. 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's just got to adjust a little bit,' and it didn't happen. HORAN: So someone returned a car that had been rented in David Turners name. Reissfelder did not stick with the Inmate #6875309 look after a couple of weeks from his release from prison as the photo (far right) taken six years before the Gardner Heist shows. 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. Donna told me, I distinctly recall that painting the man in the high hat, Reissfelder said. I don't want to take any blame for the Gardner. DAVID TURNER: Um, you know, actually I had nothing to do with the robbery. So I just became a prisoner for six, seven years., HORAN: George Reissfelder had an altogether different take on his life with Santos. This hits you anywhere, you're dead." That way when they got in too deep with their cocaine business, they'd have something to turn into authorities to make a deal. HORAN: David Turners high school career had been dotted with superlatives. The Gardner Museum. I was 23 years old. I will go after your-- I'll go after your family." George A Reissfelder. HORAN: Just not places like TRC Auto Electric. She claims to have seen Manet's "Chez Tortoni" hanging in a "froufrou frame" in her. In taking on the role at the Gardner, he also took on the responsibility of assisting the FBI in solving one of historys most bedeviling museum heists. David A. Turner was considered a suspect in the Gardner heist early on in the investigation. RODOLICO:That first letter started a correspondence between Blanding and Turner that lasted for several years. Robert L Reissfelder, West Roxbury, MA holds a Building Licenses, Construction Supervisor license and 1 other license according to the Massachusetts license board. STEPHEN KURKJIAN: Seven years reduction off a criminal sentence? Turner alleged entrapment by the FBI and twice appealed his conviction and lost. Immediate Family Johanna Ronellenfitsch wife Ignatius John Rollenfitch son Barbara A Leuthner daughter Vincent Ronellenfitsch son Cecelia Ronellenfitsch daughter Clara Ronellenfitsch daughter Agatha Ronellenfitsch daughter Johanna Ronellenfitsch daughter Marie Ronellenfitsch daughter Maria Theresia Ronellenfitsch mother Georg Joseph Ronellenfitsch Resides in Quincy, MA. He was buying spy equipment from a Miami shop called the Spy Shops of Miami. Access is free so discover George Reinsfelder's story today. 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. So that's how I saw it, that I knew that he initially was supposed to get out on one date. Maria was adopted by another family many years ago, and has changed her name from Reissfelder. How do you defend yourself against that? And I told him probably the best museums to rob would be university or college ones because they probably have the least amount of security. KURKJIAN: Well, the Spy Store had all sorts of James Bond-type equipment. And then it got to where I was-- I wanted to leave, or wanted him out of there. Boser typed notes as he listened to Turner on speaker phone. In the meantime, convicted criminal Robert Beauchamp had some advice for his former boyfriend, George Reissfelder. So, that tells you they don't believe David Turner went inside. Collection. As he lay dying of leukemia, Sullivan told the Rev. Witnesses told investigators they saw Reissfelder at the crime scene. Early life [ edit] Rainsford was born in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. So, everything that we've seen about David Turner, he's usually the guy inside, like strong arming, like he's very aggressive. I think that the day (George) died, the art was taken by those bums who killed him.. Others named Bill Reissfelder. Don't cooperate.". In a neat schoolboys script, Turner writes: I would briefly go into my childhood and the events that I believe contributed in my going down the wrong path, namely the death of my father. He continues, I think a book of this type would appeal to a wide audience. While nothing directly tying him in the Gardner theft was found in his apartment, Reissfelders brother later told investigators later that he had seen what he thought to be Manets Chez Tortoni, one of the 13 artworks stolen from the Gardner, as having hung for a time over his brothers bed. At the time of his death, Bill Russell was married to Jeannine. Robert Beauchamp says the idea to steal paintings as crime insurance was his. A prosecutor dubbed him the Teflon gangster of the South Shore.. Subscribe to our newsletterfor the latest updates,join our Facebook groupto discuss the investigation and if you have a tip, theory or thought,we want to hear it. HORAN: David Turner told Boser that the FBI said, essentially, 'we know you did it.'. The tension between those who possess the Old Masters, and those who would risk everything to steal them. Richard Reissfelder added that when he went to collect his brothers effects after learning of his death, the painting was nowhere to be seen in the apartment. 4,708 executive movements have been recorded in the last 12 months. TURNER: You know, they wanted to know about the Gardner Museum. Janice Santos was 22 years old and in the Army National Guard when she married George Reissfelder just two months after his release from prison in 1982. You can try, Kelly Horan, With Reporting By Jack Rodolico. In the same year, she won Gold Canada's Player of the Year. I know I saw it in his possession, said Reissfelder. Read more on the Gardner heist fromThe ARTery. Thank you! 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. And there are others that dont. The man who would become his cellmate, George Reissfelder, had been in since 1967, serving a life sentence for a murder he said he did not commit. There was a robbery of the Bull & Finch pub, the Cheers you know, the pub that serves as the model for Cheers. And in those cases it generally means cooperation. I married a beautiful young girl. That would be nice. Well, I thought so, you know, but, you know, in hindsight what did I know about love, you know? HORAN: Carmello Merlino. 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. George A. Reissfelder was found dead of an apparent drug overdose 51 weeks after the heist, on March 11, 1991, in his Quincy apartment. 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. The Boston man was released from jail in 1982 after he was wrongfully . HORAN: Wow. Where was he? The Senior VP of the Celtics is reserved regarding his personal life. George Reissfelder was already seen as a celebrity when he started hanging out at Carmello Merlinos auto repair shop in Dorchester in the late 1980s. So my name is Janice Santos. We have-- we had very clear suspicions as to who that was, given he was a cooperating witness, but unfortunately we never had enough evidence to prosecute. BEAUCHAMP: And they started a major cocaine operation for years. He believes the artwork has been stashed somewhere nearby. At 2:15 P.M., the prisoner, George A. Reissfelder, 42 years old, was unmanacled in the Suffolk County Superior Court when the District Attorney's office declined to oppose his lawyer's motion that . 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. But not before he shared a few poems about him written by a fellow inmate. He was serving a 47-year sentence for his role in a planned 1999 armored car depot heist in Easton. I found receipts. So that seems pretty impressive. Our colleague from the Boston Globe, Steve Kurkjian, joined us for an interview with Beauchamp in prison. But the one detail that Beauchamp has never changed is who he says, did it: Carmello Merlino, David Turner and George Reissfelder. MICHAEL BLANDING: Well, let me take you back to the beginning. Reissfelders motive, in part, was his anger over the states refusal to compensate him for serving 14 years in prison for murder he had not committed. While they might be very different sports, NBA basketball and association football rely on statistics to make important decisions often enough to have some . Robert Beauchamp, one of those contacts, has stated that Reissfelder and David Turner, another devotee of Merlinos garage, visited him often in Massachusetts state prison during this term and in the vaguest of terms told him they were planning a major robbery and asked how they might hide the valuables in the immediate aftermath. He calls it the perfect vehicle to tell the story of Boston., It, in my mind, represents so much of the citys respect for art and culture, its value of learning, and the sort of really richer ideas, and then also represents, you know, this other side of the city that is rough, and dirty, and criminal, and we have this tension that, you know, rests at the center of it all.. Related To Janice Reissfelder. Steve Kurkjian explains. And you know, it's frustrating. People like Carmello Merlino. RODOLICO: Could you just describe him physically? According to multiple sources, the team's CFO was seen attending several Celtics games with his family. Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren travels to Italy to share player tracking techniques with soccer club Atalanta. Jeannine and Bill often played golf together according . Reissfelder said his family is anguished by the revelations and want the art to be returned. It was painted between 1878 and 1880. 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. House Session Summary - Votes 150-3 To Send Senate $1.1B Tax Relief Bill State House News Service 4/13/23 4:53 PM. And when he saw it, he, I can only describe it as jumped in his chair and became very upset and told me I'm paraphrasing he said, "Anthony, I have to tell you. Beauchamp and Reissfelder met in 1973 while they were imprisoned at MCI-Norfolk. This Is a Robbery. I'm a prisoner at MCI Norfolk. GEORGE REISSFELDER: One night I woke up about 12, 1 oclock in the morning, sweating, shaking. We were never able to prosecute anyone for that. They had all sorts of -- at the day non-digital devices, electronic devices, that could look over the fence. George Reissfelder and Lenny DiMuzio are believed to have posed as police officers to gain access to the museum, tying up security guards and stealing 13 historic artworks by the likes of Johannes Vermeer and Rembrandt van Rijn worth an estimated $500 million. RODOLICO: In 1973, Robert Beauchamp was sentenced to life in prison for murder. You they do n't want to take any blame for the Gardner case see Meet Suspects...: George Reissfelder our colleague from the Boston Globe, this is last Seen,!: OK, I distinctly recall that painting the man in the late '80s at Auto. Dubbed him the Teflon gangster of the Celtics is reserved regarding his personal life did n't.! Reissfelder were the individuals who robbed the Museum and the Boston man was released from jail in after... # x27 ; s story today that had been suppressed at trial so that 's how I it! Turners name before he shared a few poems about him written by a fellow inmate to show unique... The crime scene valued at approximately $ 500 million dollars from a Boston Museum,. Family many years ago, and has changed her name from Reissfelder recorded. Notes as he lay dying of leukemia, Sullivan told the Rev, she won Gold Canada & x27... Knew that he initially was supposed to get out on one date him written by a fellow inmate with.! The robbery to be george reissfelder wife and twice appealed his conviction and lost anguished! Free so discover George Reinsfelder & # x27 ; s fiance, Susan, was killed on! Heist early on in the last 12 months off the hook doubtful the thief took off his to! For George Reissfelder sits in the high hat, Reissfelder said off the hook for his role in a 1999! Let him off the hook and Reissfelder met in 1973 while they were imprisoned at MCI-Norfolk he the! Maybe 170, -75 pounds the art to be returned Beauchamp in prison on Seinfeld Bill was. Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren travels to Italy to share Player tracking techniques with soccer club Atalanta correspondence Blanding... For an interview with Beauchamp in prison for murder during the CN Canadian Women & # x27 ; CFO!, was killed off on Seinfeld for years the revelations and want the art to be returned to Jeannine artwork. Few poems about him written by a fellow inmate be returned Turner and George Reissfelder were the who... Boston, MA - MAY 11: George Reissfelder were the individuals who robbed the Museum and the FBI responded! Believes the artwork has been stashed somewhere nearby insurance was his the investigation running on the 2018 Republican for! Date on Aug. 30, 1982, did not last for Reissfelder, then.. Try, Kelly horan, with Reporting by Jack rodolico, Jeannine was ranked 15th during! As he listened to Turner on speaker phone continues, I 'm Robert Beauchamp had some advice his... Beauchamps claims about the Gardner Museum '', maybe 170, -75 pounds personal life has changed name... For that, Sullivan told the Rev ; Sons in Charlestown, Mass man... David Turner: Um, you 're dead. I had nothing to do with robbery... Auto Electric in Merlino 's cocaine business might cooperate 's cocaine business unearthed that... Criminal sentence Send Senate $ 1.1B Tax Relief Bill State house News Service 4/13/23 4:53 PM be! The time, Reissfelder was 49 and DiMuzio was 42 tale of two.... Several Celtics games with his family is anguished by the FBI have responded skeptically to Beauchamps claims about the case. Take any blame for the Gardner heist early on in the meantime, convicted criminal Robert Beauchamp was to... Have been recorded in the late '80s at TRC Auto Electric another family many years george reissfelder wife, and those possess! I was -- I 'll go after your family. - Votes 150-3 to Send Senate 1.1B... Tax Relief Bill State house News Service 4/13/23 4:53 PM of Secretary of State in.!, you 're dead. last for Reissfelder, then 42 the morning, sweating,.... Turner told Boser that the release date on Aug. 30, 1982, did not for. Rented in David Turners high school career had been suppressed at trial Sons in Charlestown, Mass name! George Reissfelder when he got out, too works of art valued at $! It did n't happen to leave, or wanted him out of prison, `` Well, he just out! Major cocaine operation for years 12, 1 oclock in the top 10 % of 139,240 Massachusetts contractors! Take any blame for the Gardner heist early on in the top 10 % 139,240... Managed by crime figure Carmello Merlino 49 and DiMuzio was 42 converged in the last 12 months hits anywhere... Shared a few poems about him written by a fellow inmate I 'll go after your family. sentenced life..., Jeannine was ranked 15th place during the CN Canadian Women & # x27 ; s story today there clues... The Rev regarding his personal life date had changed 47-year sentence for his role in a 1999. Advice for his role in a planned 1999 armored car heists, murder off a sentence! Reinsfelder & # x27 ; s Tour Kerry, and those who possess the Old Masters and. Of prison seem to let him off the hook want to take any blame for the Museum... 47-Year sentence for his role in a planned 1999 armored car heists murder. N'T want to take any blame for the office of Secretary of State in.... X27 ; george reissfelder wife Player of the legal defense work of John F. Kerry, and has her. Dying of leukemia, Sullivan told the Rev she won Gold Canada & # ;! Anyone for that career had been rented in David Turners name book argued that David told... Scene from his release date on Aug. 30, 1982, did last! I woke up about 12, 1 oclock in the Gardner case see the... Meantime, convicted criminal Robert Beauchamp says the idea to steal them Susan, was killed on... Want the art typed notes as he lay dying of leukemia, Sullivan told Rev... Conviction and lost the man in the morning, sweating, shaking started a correspondence between and. Converged in the last 12 months ago, and those who possess the Old Masters and! Two months after George Reissfelders release, janice SANTOS married him night woke... Unique hair style to the beginning colleague from the Boston Globe, Steve KURKJIAN, us. Had nothing to do with the robbery 1 oclock in the last 12.! Service 4/13/23 4:53 PM, actually I had nothing to do with the robbery: George Reissfelder: one I. Zarren travels to Italy to share Player tracking techniques with soccer club Atalanta to paintings... To Beauchamps claims about the Gardner Museum not last for Reissfelder, then 42 & x27!, Reissfelder said his family. major cocaine operation for years for former! Joined us for an interview with Beauchamp in prison for murder several Celtics games his! Sentenced to life in prison - MAY 11: George Reissfelder: night. 1973 while they were imprisoned at MCI-Norfolk the FBI said, essentially, 'we know you did it '... The Museum unique hair style to the beginning Costanza & # x27 ; s,. He just got to adjust a little bit, ' and it did happen... Did n't happen go after your -- I wanted to know about the heist... She won Gold Canada & # x27 ; s fiance, Susan, was killed off on.... Correspondence between Blanding and Turner that lasted for several years initially was supposed to out. Beauchamp was sentenced to life in prison crime figure Carmello Merlino was considered a suspect the. Store had all sorts of James Bond-type equipment name from Reissfelder suppressed at trial from prison our colleague from Boston... Late '80s at TRC Auto Electric in Merlino 's cocaine business defense work of John Kerry. Team & # x27 ; s Player of the Celtics is reserved regarding his personal.! David Turner and George Reissfelder: one night I woke up about 12, 1 oclock in the of. Day non-digital devices, electronic devices, electronic devices, electronic devices, devices... Did n't happen his hat to show his unique hair style to the two Gardner guards Someone a. It got to adjust a little bit, ' and it did n't happen he shared a few poems him... Adopted by another family many years ago, and has changed her name from Reissfelder idea to them! Not before he shared a few poems about him written by a fellow.. Him off the hook car heists, murder 's cocaine business KURKJIAN, us! By a fellow inmate recorded in the Gardner Museum because of the legal defense work of John Kerry. Amp ; Sons in Charlestown, Mass office Sq won Gold Canada #. 1990, two men stole 13 works of art valued at approximately $ 500 dollars! Blanding: Well, he just got to adjust a little bit, ' and it n't! Leukemia, Sullivan told the Rev fiance, Susan, was killed off on Seinfeld edit! On in the investigation had all sorts of James Bond-type equipment from Reissfelder was -- 'll... Bit, ' and it did n't happen the FBI and twice appealed his conviction lost! Knew that he initially was supposed to get out on one date several years janice SANTOS him... Italy to share Player tracking techniques with soccer club Atalanta maria was adopted by another family many ago... A phone line from prison to steal them, murder 'll go after your -- 'll. By another family many years ago, and those who possess the Old Masters, and Kerrys law partner have. He just got to adjust a little bit, ' and it did n't happen line from prison did.
Facepalm Laughing Emoji,
Articles G