Robert Donati

Robert “Bobby” Donati was a man of contrasts, known for his sharp dress, an eye for antiques, and a criminal career that stretched back to his teenage years in East Boston. Born on June 4, 1940, with his twin brother Richard, Bobby grew up in a neighborhood steeped in the culture of the Italian-American Mafia. By 1958, at age 17, his criminal record had begun. He and his brother became associates of the notorious Angiulo Brothers' crew, a faction of the New England-based Patriarca crime family. Over the decades, Donati, a 51-year-old male, built a reputation as a career criminal, involved in everything from armed robbery to fraudulent stock schemes. In the 1980s, his stature grew when he became the driver and legman for Vincent "The Animal" Ferrara, a rising capo vying for control of the Patriarca family. Despite his underworld connections, friends remembered a lighter side to Donati, a man who developed a friendship with the infamous art thief Myles Connor Jr., with whom he cased museums and scouted for valuable pieces.

The last time anyone saw Bobby Donati alive was on the evening of September 21, 1991, as he left his home in Revere, Massachusetts. Three days later, on September 24, a grim discovery was made just a short distance away. Inside the trunk of his own Cadillac, police found Donati’s body. He had been brutally murdered; his body was bound, severely beaten, and had sustained multiple stab wounds. The viciousness of the killing sent a clear and brutal message within the organized crime circles where Donati had operated for more than three decades.

The investigation into Donati’s murder fell to Massachusetts authorities, who were immediately faced with a complex web of mob politics and potential motives. His death occurred during a violent power struggle within the Patriarca crime family. One theory was that Donati was killed as part of this internal war, possibly for his allegiance to Ferrara, whose faction was losing ground. Another theory suggested he was targeted for being a government informant, though federal prosecutors have denied this claim. His criminal record was extensive, and as one associate noted, his enemies were legion, meaning his murder could have resulted from any number of disputes.

The most enduring theory, however, links Donati’s murder to one of the most audacious crimes in history: the March 18, 1990, heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. For years, investigators and journalists have explored the possibility that Donati was one of the two thieves disguised as police officers who stole 13 works of art valued at half a billion dollars. According to this theory, Donati’s motive was not personal enrichment but leverage. His boss, Vincent Ferrara, had been arrested on racketeering and murder charges in 1989. Donati allegedly masterminded the art theft with the goal of trading the priceless masterpieces for Ferrara’s freedom. An intermediary for Ferrara later claimed Donati visited him in jail after the heist and admitted his role, explaining he planned to lie low before starting negotiations.

Friends and associates have offered pieces of a puzzle that may or may not lead back to the Gardner heist. Art thief Myles Connor Jr. claimed he and Donati had cased the Gardner years earlier and was convinced Donati had pulled off the job. A friend recalled seeing Donati at a Revere hangout shortly after the robbery carrying a paper bag that contained two police uniforms. Another noted Donati’s fascination with a Napoleonic eagle finial, one of the less valuable but specific items stolen from the museum. Donati’s sister, however, expressed doubt that her brother had the strategic ability to execute such a complex theft.

Decades have passed, but the murder of Robert Donati remains officially unsolved, with no arrests ever made. His death is often seen as a dead end in the Gardner investigation; whatever secrets he held about the location of the stolen art may have died with him. The FBI has never publicly named Donati as a suspect in the heist, though by 2013, the agency stated it believed the two men responsible for the theft were deceased. As of April 2026, Donati’s homicide is a cold case, a violent final chapter in the life of a Boston mob associate forever tied to the world's greatest unsolved art mystery.