53: In the Bag pt.2: How to Hide a Painting

Jump back into one of the greatest unsolved heists in history? In Part 2 of our deep dive into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft, Grant and Maia pick up the story 48 hours after 13 masterpieces vanished—and the chaos really kicks in. From a scrapped smoke-bomb plan in the ’80s to Myles Connor’s audacious Rembrandt heists, they trace a tangled web of mobsters, shady art dealers, and maybe a few guards who weren’t as innocent as they seemed. Follow the trail through Boston’s underworld, meet a cast of characters straight out of a crime novel (looking at you, Billy Youngworth and Bobby Donati), and find out how a dark warehouse, a reporter with a flashlight, and a handful of suspicious paint chips almost cracked the case—almost. With living suspects, mob wars, FBI blunders, and jaw-dropping theories about where the art could be today, this episode delivers the twists, the drama, and a few moments that'll have you shouting, "Wait, WHAT?!" right along with us. Hear the perspective of Boston Herald journalist Tom Mashberg. We chase leads and go down rabbit holes and yet are still left wondering - how to hide a painting.

00:00:00 Catch Up

00:18:45 How to Hide a Painting

00:33:15 Smoke-Bomb Shenanigans

00:40:20 Blue-Room Blind Spot

00:58:30 Warehouse Whistle-Blow

01:29:00 The Last Insider

01:45:00 Vault Hunters

01:48:30 Deathbed Confession

01:52:00 Case Still Open

01:55:10 Keep Your Eyes Peeled

01:58:00 Sign-Off Shenanigans

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