Screenwriter questioned in Gardner Museum heist Boston Globe August 7, 1993
A California screenwriter once eyed as a possible suspect in the $200 million art heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum testified before a federal grand jury yesterday, according to sources familiar with the case.
Brian M. McDevitt, who served several months in prison for a bungled art robbery in upstate New York in 1980, was questioned about his whereabouts at 1 a.m. on March 18, 1990 -- the day two men posing as Boston police officers duped security guards into letting them into the museum.
For two hours, McDevitt, 32, a Swampscott native who now lives in Los Angeles, wandered in and out of the grand jury room on the 13th floor of US District Court in Boston to consult with his lawyer before answering questions by Asst. US Attorney Brien O'Connor, according to sources.
O'Connor and US Attorney A. John Pappalardo could not be reached for comment.
McDevitt's lawyer, Thomas E. Beatrice, told WCVB-TV (Ch. 5) yesterday that he's been assured by prosecutors that his client is not a target of the probe and was subpoenaed "presumably to provide some testimony or evidence in their investigation."
But, Beatrice said his client knows "absolutely nothing" about the Gardner heist. "We don't think he can provide anything that could aid them in this investigation," he said.
Sources familiar with the case confirmed Beatrice's statement that McDevitt is not a suspect. They said he was called before a grand jury because he was evasive when interviewed on two occasions by FBI agents, who have focused on more than a dozen suspects worldwide during the probe which has yielded few clues.
"Apparently he was very cute with the bureau and so they wanted to pin him down under oath," said a source.
The robbery that stunned the art world three years ago remains a mystery. There has been no trace of the masterpieces stripped from the walls of the museum, which opened in 1925.
The police imposters rang the museum's doorbell, claiming they were investigating a disturbance. Once inside, they handcuffed and gagged two security officers.
The robbers, both in their 30s, cut a dozen paintings, drawings and objects from the walls, passing over more valuable works than those they stole -- raising speculation that an art collector may have ordered the theft of specific items.
The thieves made off with Jan Vermeer's "The Concert," Rembrandt's "The Storm on the Sea of Galilee," "Self Portrait" and "A Lady and Gentleman in Black," a canvas by Edouard Manet and five pieces by Edgar Degas.
Time is running out for investigators as they rush to nab the art bandits, who cannot be prosecuted for the robbery under the law if they aren't charged within five years of the crime.
"People are not lined up to come in and testify," said a source close to the investigation. "There's been very little grand jury activity. But we will probably interview more people in a last-gasp effort to solve this."
Copyright Boston Globe Newspaper
