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Reviewer: Dharmadhyaksha ( talk · contribs) 15:11, 21 January 2016 (UTC)
Hi @ TarkusAB: I will review the article for GA and do minor corrections myself and come back here with other points. §§ Dharmadhyaksha§§ { Talk / Edits} 15:11, 21 January 2016 (UTC)
The article is well written and good job @
TarkusAB:. There are some points not completed and noted in GA review above. But they are not going to hinder the GA as they are not compulsory by GA criteria but more like to-dos if this goes to FA. Congratulations for the new GA!!
§§
Dharmadhyaksha§§ {
Talk /
Edits}
10:20, 20 February 2016 (UTC)
https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2013/march/reward-offered-for-return-of-stolen-gardner-museum-artwork/special-agent-geoff-kelly — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.11.90 ( talk) 10:42, 2 June 2016 (UTC)
Why does the article name one guard, but not the other? Joseph A. Spadaro ( talk) 03:58, 3 September 2016 (UTC)
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It wasn't so much a theft as a robbery, actually. I believe we should rename to Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum robbery. E Eng 05:22, 3 September 2018 (UTC)
While the added information is of course appreciated, this section is severely -- almost grotesquely -- overdetailed and rambling. For example, this passage:
David Turner was another associate of Guarente[104] Turner and Stephen Rossetti were frequent visitors to Guarente's weekend estate in Madison, Maine.[87] In the months before and after the theft, the Massachusetts State Police were watching Turner because of his suspected involvement in trafficking cocaine through the Dorchester garage.[105] In March 1990, just days before the heist, Turner drove to Florida to pick up a large amount of cocaine.[106] On March 15, Turner's credit card was used to purchase hundreds of dollars in merchandise from Florida shops specialized in electronic equipment for monitoring police communications that could determine if someone was targeted for surveillance.[107][108] His credit card was used next on March 20 to rent a car in Fort Lauderdale. His signature was used but not his social security number, suggesting that someone other than Turner may have been using his credit card.[108] Turner was back in Boston at least a few days after the robbery.[109]In 1992, Merlino and another associate Pappas were arrested for cocaine trafficking.[110] Pappas told authorities about Turner's involvement in several break-ins but did not mention the Gardner heist.[111] Merlino asked Turner to try and recover the stolen paintings, but Turner said he could not locate them, only saying he heard they were in a church in South Boston but could not find them.[111]Merlino began devising new schemes when he was freed from jail.[112] He organized the heist of an armored van headquarters building. Involved were Merlino, his nephew, Turner, Stephen Rossetti, and FBI informant Anthony Romano.[113] Because of information Romano gathered, the men were all arrested in a sting operation the morning of the planned robbery.[114] Turner was convinced the FBI let the plot proceed so they could arrest him to pressure him for information about the Gardner paintings. He maintained he did not know anything.[115] The men were sent to prison in 2002, with particularly long sentences because their robbery equipment included a hand grenade.[115] Turner's expected release from jail is in 2025.[116]
I believe there are two sentences in there related to the Gardner robbery. The rest should be condensed to one or two sentences giving context. This reads like a true-crime book or New Yorker piece. E Eng 02:25, 18 October 2019 (UTC)
After reviewing WP:IPC, I think the "In popular culture" section here should be removed. The concerns I have are that items are either (1) poorly sourced indicating lack of significance (2) non-fiction works which we are not cultural references though could be put under further reading if deemed reliable or (3) minor references with no real significance. Does anyone take concern with me removing this section? TarkusAB talk/ contrib 17:44, 4 November 2019 (UTC)
A fictional or semifictional portrayal of an article's subject is worth noting or discussing in the article on that subject to the extent that reliable secondary sources demonstrate that the portrayal either (a) had a significant effect on the subject or (b) adds to an understanding of the subject itself, or of the subject's place in history or popular perception.
reliable secondary sources demonstrate that the portrayaletc etc. In other words, we'd want (for example) a book on heist films saying, "For ten years few people outside Boston residents and art groupies knew about the Gardner robbery; but Knocking Over Mrs. Gardner's House changed all that." Except for the Simpson's episode (and I'm not saying even that's worth including) everything mentioned in the section now is merely cited to itself i.e. it exists. E Eng 04:00, 5 November 2019 (UTC)
The Drunk History exploration of the robbery seems a major cultural mention– Oh come on, RK! E Eng 21:20, 5 November 2019 (UTC)
As I've said before, I'd like to bring the article to FA status and the main page for the 30th anniversary in March. As of now I think it's looking pretty good but there are some omissions. The Corsica lead written about in Wittman's book and discussed on Last Seen is not here, no mention of the Florida dig that lead to a septic tank, and Boser goes into some Bulger/IRA details not documented here, but I'm unsure how important these stories are to FA status on this article. The largest FBI investigation and most discussed is surrounding the Dorchester gang, which is documented here. Do people think it's ready for FAC? What concerns do people have? TarkusAB talk/ contrib 16:25, 5 November 2019 (UTC)
I believe that I have read that they cannot prosecute the robbers, even if they are found, due to the statute of limitations expiring. Does anyone know for sure? If true, that info should be placed into the article. Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro ( talk) 04:28, 22 January 2020 (UTC)
There is a two-door system that the uniformed thieves passed through. Sometimes this is called a man-trap because once someone enters the first door and closes it, they are trapped until someone in the secured area (past the second door) lets them out (in one direction or the other). When the uniformed thieves opened the first door, they would see the second and know they were entering a man trap. Well, all indications are that knew this head of time. But, this seems like an extremely risky thing to do without absolute knowledge that they would definitely be buzzed pass the second door, OR if they could make a contingency exit through the first door. So, what was their guarantee to be buzzed past the second door? If they had none, would it be possible to watergate the first door? OR, were they just that dumb? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.106.46.31 ( talk) 22:15, 11 April 2021 (UTC)
This is the
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Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject. |
Article policies
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Find sources: Google ( books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL |
![]() | Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft has been listed as one of the Social sciences and society good articles under the good article criteria. If you can improve it further, please do so. If it no longer meets these criteria, you can reassess it. | |||||||||
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![]() | Facts from this article were featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the " On this day..." column on March 18, 2018, March 18, 2020, and March 18, 2023. |
While the biographies of living persons policy does not apply directly to the subject of this article, it may contain material that relates to living persons, such as friends and family of persons no longer living, or living persons involved in the subject matter. Unsourced or poorly sourced contentious material about living persons must be removed immediately. If such material is re-inserted repeatedly, or if there are other concerns related to this policy, please see this noticeboard. |
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Reviewer: Dharmadhyaksha ( talk · contribs) 15:11, 21 January 2016 (UTC)
Hi @ TarkusAB: I will review the article for GA and do minor corrections myself and come back here with other points. §§ Dharmadhyaksha§§ { Talk / Edits} 15:11, 21 January 2016 (UTC)
The article is well written and good job @
TarkusAB:. There are some points not completed and noted in GA review above. But they are not going to hinder the GA as they are not compulsory by GA criteria but more like to-dos if this goes to FA. Congratulations for the new GA!!
§§
Dharmadhyaksha§§ {
Talk /
Edits}
10:20, 20 February 2016 (UTC)
https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2013/march/reward-offered-for-return-of-stolen-gardner-museum-artwork/special-agent-geoff-kelly — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.172.11.90 ( talk) 10:42, 2 June 2016 (UTC)
Why does the article name one guard, but not the other? Joseph A. Spadaro ( talk) 03:58, 3 September 2016 (UTC)
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It wasn't so much a theft as a robbery, actually. I believe we should rename to Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum robbery. E Eng 05:22, 3 September 2018 (UTC)
While the added information is of course appreciated, this section is severely -- almost grotesquely -- overdetailed and rambling. For example, this passage:
David Turner was another associate of Guarente[104] Turner and Stephen Rossetti were frequent visitors to Guarente's weekend estate in Madison, Maine.[87] In the months before and after the theft, the Massachusetts State Police were watching Turner because of his suspected involvement in trafficking cocaine through the Dorchester garage.[105] In March 1990, just days before the heist, Turner drove to Florida to pick up a large amount of cocaine.[106] On March 15, Turner's credit card was used to purchase hundreds of dollars in merchandise from Florida shops specialized in electronic equipment for monitoring police communications that could determine if someone was targeted for surveillance.[107][108] His credit card was used next on March 20 to rent a car in Fort Lauderdale. His signature was used but not his social security number, suggesting that someone other than Turner may have been using his credit card.[108] Turner was back in Boston at least a few days after the robbery.[109]In 1992, Merlino and another associate Pappas were arrested for cocaine trafficking.[110] Pappas told authorities about Turner's involvement in several break-ins but did not mention the Gardner heist.[111] Merlino asked Turner to try and recover the stolen paintings, but Turner said he could not locate them, only saying he heard they were in a church in South Boston but could not find them.[111]Merlino began devising new schemes when he was freed from jail.[112] He organized the heist of an armored van headquarters building. Involved were Merlino, his nephew, Turner, Stephen Rossetti, and FBI informant Anthony Romano.[113] Because of information Romano gathered, the men were all arrested in a sting operation the morning of the planned robbery.[114] Turner was convinced the FBI let the plot proceed so they could arrest him to pressure him for information about the Gardner paintings. He maintained he did not know anything.[115] The men were sent to prison in 2002, with particularly long sentences because their robbery equipment included a hand grenade.[115] Turner's expected release from jail is in 2025.[116]
I believe there are two sentences in there related to the Gardner robbery. The rest should be condensed to one or two sentences giving context. This reads like a true-crime book or New Yorker piece. E Eng 02:25, 18 October 2019 (UTC)
After reviewing WP:IPC, I think the "In popular culture" section here should be removed. The concerns I have are that items are either (1) poorly sourced indicating lack of significance (2) non-fiction works which we are not cultural references though could be put under further reading if deemed reliable or (3) minor references with no real significance. Does anyone take concern with me removing this section? TarkusAB talk/ contrib 17:44, 4 November 2019 (UTC)
A fictional or semifictional portrayal of an article's subject is worth noting or discussing in the article on that subject to the extent that reliable secondary sources demonstrate that the portrayal either (a) had a significant effect on the subject or (b) adds to an understanding of the subject itself, or of the subject's place in history or popular perception.
reliable secondary sources demonstrate that the portrayaletc etc. In other words, we'd want (for example) a book on heist films saying, "For ten years few people outside Boston residents and art groupies knew about the Gardner robbery; but Knocking Over Mrs. Gardner's House changed all that." Except for the Simpson's episode (and I'm not saying even that's worth including) everything mentioned in the section now is merely cited to itself i.e. it exists. E Eng 04:00, 5 November 2019 (UTC)
The Drunk History exploration of the robbery seems a major cultural mention– Oh come on, RK! E Eng 21:20, 5 November 2019 (UTC)
As I've said before, I'd like to bring the article to FA status and the main page for the 30th anniversary in March. As of now I think it's looking pretty good but there are some omissions. The Corsica lead written about in Wittman's book and discussed on Last Seen is not here, no mention of the Florida dig that lead to a septic tank, and Boser goes into some Bulger/IRA details not documented here, but I'm unsure how important these stories are to FA status on this article. The largest FBI investigation and most discussed is surrounding the Dorchester gang, which is documented here. Do people think it's ready for FAC? What concerns do people have? TarkusAB talk/ contrib 16:25, 5 November 2019 (UTC)
I believe that I have read that they cannot prosecute the robbers, even if they are found, due to the statute of limitations expiring. Does anyone know for sure? If true, that info should be placed into the article. Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro ( talk) 04:28, 22 January 2020 (UTC)
There is a two-door system that the uniformed thieves passed through. Sometimes this is called a man-trap because once someone enters the first door and closes it, they are trapped until someone in the secured area (past the second door) lets them out (in one direction or the other). When the uniformed thieves opened the first door, they would see the second and know they were entering a man trap. Well, all indications are that knew this head of time. But, this seems like an extremely risky thing to do without absolute knowledge that they would definitely be buzzed pass the second door, OR if they could make a contingency exit through the first door. So, what was their guarantee to be buzzed past the second door? If they had none, would it be possible to watergate the first door? OR, were they just that dumb? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.106.46.31 ( talk) 22:15, 11 April 2021 (UTC)