HARTFORD, Conn., Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Reputed mobster Robert Gentile, suspected of being privy to a 1990 Boston art heist, pleaded guilty Wednesday to drug and firearm charges in Hartford, Conn.
Gentile, 62, was indicted on six charges related to a conspiracy to illegally sell prescription medication, and three counts of illegally possessing weapons as a convicted felon, court records showed, and faces 46 to 57 months in prison under a plea deal after his guilty plea in U.S. District Court.
Sentencing was set by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny for Feb. 6.
Authorities suspect Gentile, a reputed member of the Genovese crime family, is associated with individuals suspected in the theft of $500 million in rare paintings from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Hartford Courant reported Wednesday, referring to the incident as "the world's richest and most notorious art heist."
"The government has reason to believe Mr. Gentile had some involvement with stolen property out of the district of Massachusetts," Assistant U.S. Attorney John Durham said during a hearing earlier this year.
Gentile's lawyer, A. Ryan McGuigan, has said Gentile knows nothing about the stolen art, which has not been recovered.
