The Gardner Heist Investigation In The Media (Part V)
Another detail came out with the Globe story about Security Guard Rick Abath’s footsteps being the only ones picked up on motion detectors in the Blue Room the night of the robbery was that Abath had also opened the side entrance to the museum only minutes before the robbers rang the buzzer to get in. “Without naming a source Kurkjian said that “ after 23 years of pursuing dead ends, including a disappointing search of an alleged mobster’s home last year, investigators are focusing on intriguing evidence that suggests the former night watchman might have been in on the crime all along — or at least knows more about it than he has admitted.” This could not have won any friends within the investigation for Kurkjian. It flatly contradicted the publicity campaign the FBI would start only five days later, where the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts and the head of the FBI both said the identities of the thieves were known and the focus was on locating the paintings. T...