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Man linked to art heist freed from prison, blasts officials

FILE - In this Sept. 5, 2017 file photo, Robert Gentile is wheeled into the federal courthouse in Hartford, Conn. The reputed Connecticut mobster, who authorities believe is the last surviving person of interest in the largest art heist in history, was released from prison Friday, March 15, 2018, in an unrelated weapons case. Federal prosecutors have said they think Gentile has information about the still-unsolved 1990 $500 million heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. (Patrick Raycraft/Hartford Courant via AP, File)

HARTFORD, Conn. — An elderly reputed Connecticut mobster who federal authorities believe is the last surviving person of interest in the largest art heist in history has been released from prison and is criticizing federal government officials.

Eighty-two-year-old Robert Gentile also maintained Monday that he knows nothing about the still-unsolved theft of $500 million worth of art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston in 1990. He finished a four-year sentence in an unrelated weapons case and was released Friday.

Gentile is blaming federal officials for his worsening health problems and criticizing authorities for seizing his money and damaging his Manchester home during a raid in the weapons case.

An FBI official declined to comment on Gentile’s statements. Federal Bureau of Prisons officials said they were reviewing Gentile’s comments.

Dave Collins, The Associated Press