Man linked to Boston museum art heist seeks prison release in weapons case
HARTFORD (AP) — A reputed Connecticut mobster who authorities say is the last surviving person of interest in the largest art heist in U.S. history wants to await sentencing in an unrelated weapons case at his home.
The motion filed Friday by Robert Gentile's attorney in federal court called Gentile's multiple transfers to prisons "cruel and unusual punishment."
The 81-year-old Gentile was to be sentenced in September. But a judge postponed it after Gentile's lawyer raised concerns about his client's mental health, saying he couldn't remember pleading guilty.
Prosecutors have said they believe Gentile has information about the still-unsolved 1990 heist at Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Thieves stole an estimated $500 million worth of artwork.
The U.S. attorney's office in Connecticut declined to comment Saturday on the motion.
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