BOSTON HEISTS Ep. 6 | Gardner Museum: “The Mafia Connection”

Infamous America

Black Barrel Media

True Crime, Documentary, History, Society & Culture

4.5 • 2.8K Ratings

🗓️ 27 August 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

As the FBI’s investigation of local Boston art thieves fades, its investigation of crews linked to the Italian mob ramps up. Agents begin to focus on the men who are associated with Carmello Merlino’s gang. But the 1990s proves to be a deadly time to be involved with the Merlino crew, and suspects start dying. Eventually, the FBI declares partial victory and announces that it knows the identities of the thieves, but it does not know the location of the stolen items to this day. Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial. On YouTube, subscribe to INFAMOUS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage. For more details, please visit www.blackbarrelmedia.com. Our social media pages are: @blackbarrelmedia on Facebook and Instagram, and @bbarrelmedia on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	There are some things you should always check, like the hygiene rating on your local takeaway,
0:06.2	the setting on your razor, and whether the party actually is fancy dress.
0:11.1	The other thing you should check is your Experian credit report, especially if you're looking to borrow money.
0:17.2	It lets you understand what lenders see, so you can increase your chances of getting the best deals.
0:22.8	It's dead easy to check it and completely free.
0:26.6	See it in seconds. Download the Experian app today. Boston art thief Miles Connor said he and his friend Bobby Donati started studying the
0:47.0	Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1975 for a possible robbery. According to Connor,
0:53.5	the goal was simple and safe.
0:55.9	Steal a bunch of valuable paintings,
0:58.0	wait for the museum to offer a big reward,
1:00.6	then return the paintings and collect the reward.
1:03.7	By that time,
1:04.9	Connor and several other thieves in New England
1:06.9	knew from personal experience
1:08.9	that it was risky to try to sell stolen artwork on the
1:12.1	black market. In 1975, Connor was in the middle of a legal saga because he had been caught
1:19.5	selling stolen artwork to undercover FBI agents, artwork which he and Bobby had stolen a year earlier.
1:27.0	Now, if Miles and Bobby were going to do the
1:29.2	Gardner job together, they would have to wait. By the end of 1975, Conner was in jail, and he was
1:36.2	facing a 13-year prison sentence. But in January 1976, Connor struck a deal with the U.S.
1:43.3	attorney who was prosecuting his case.
1:46.0	Connor returned a Rembrand painting, which he had recently stolen from the Boston Museum of Fine
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Black Barrel Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Black Barrel Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.