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How an unsolved murder could shed light on an infamous art heist

<p dir="ltr">In the early hours of March 18th 1990, 13 artworks by renowned artists such as Vermeer and Rembrandt were stolen from Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. </p> <p dir="ltr">Collectively valued at $500 million, the artworks were never recovered as investigators failed to pin down one key suspect after the theft. </p> <p dir="ltr">But now, over 30 years on, an unsolved murder of a man in 1991 has given police a new angle on what happened to the art. </p> <p dir="ltr">Jimmy Marks was shot twice on February 20th, the year after the heist, outside his apartment in Massachusetts: 25 minutes northeast of Boston. </p> <p dir="ltr">Jimmy’s murder remains unsolved, and there has not been an arrest made in connection with the high-profile case. </p> <p dir="ltr">Marks was a convicted bank robber and an associate of Robert Guarente, who has long been a person of interest in the case, and who died in 2004. Guarente had been with Marks earlier in the day of his death and is suspected of having been the one to pull the trigger on Marks.</p> <p dir="ltr">“[Marks] had connections to subjects suspected of being involved in the Gardner museum heist,” deputy police chief Mark O’Toole of the city of Lynn, Massachusetts, <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/02/27/metro/investigators-suspect-link-between-gardner-museum-heist-an-execution-style-murder-lynn/">told</a> the Boston Globe. “We don’t know what, if any, role he had. But very likely it was related [to his death].”</p> <p dir="ltr">Investigators believe that Guarente was once in possession of two of the stolen works, which he then handed over to another accomplice named Robert Gentile, who died in 2001.</p> <p dir="ltr">A recent tip to investigators said that prior to his death, Marks “was bragging that he was not only in possession of some of the stolen Gardner artwork, he bragged that he had hidden it,” according to Boston 25. Police recently searched the Lynn apartment where Marks once lived, but did not recover anything.</p> <p dir="ltr">Gardner Museum Security Chief Anthony Amore said that the new evidence “needs to be investigated more thoroughly”, as investigators continue their efforts to recover the paintings. </p> <p dir="ltr">Shortly after Marks’ death, investigators first were able to place Guarente and Gentile in the same place. Amore told Boston 25, “The fact that these people converge here around the time of the Marks homicide certainly makes a person hunting for the Gardner paintings sit up and pay attention.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

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Bridgerton heartthrob to star in new heist movie

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><em>Bridgerton</em> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">star Regé-Jean Page shocked fans when he announced his departure from the show, the actor has gone on to star in a new, untitled heist film.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Written and directed by TV writer Noah Hawley, the film will be produced by Joe and Anthony Russo, the duo behind several </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Avengers</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Captain America </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">films.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As for the film’s plot, those involved have remained tight-lipped regarding the details beyond the </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.empireonline.com/movies/news/rege-jean-page-starring-in-heist-film-from-noah-hawley-and-the-russo-brothers/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">idea</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that one or more items will be stolen over the course of the movie.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Page will be working with the Russo brothers for the second time, after starring alongside Chris Evans and Ryan Gosling in the brothers’ upcoming film </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Gray Man</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMfF9ubJUrY/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMfF9ubJUrY/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by The Russo Brothers (@therussobrothers)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Following </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/entertainment/tv/why-bridgerton-s-hottest-property-said-no-to-season-two?fbclid=IwAR1TnfmpZI9HUiSs65vuJL44GOSwSWQepIDXA_31bR2gXRAxn056FL5z0us" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">his departure</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> from Netflix’s </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bridgerton</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> ahead of the second season, Page has been involved in a number of projects, including a role in Paramount’s upcoming </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dungeons &amp; Dragons</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> movie, and a starring role in the studio’s reboot of </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Saint</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Page has also lent his voice to an audio play of Nail Gaiman’s <em>The Sandman</em>, with fans swooning over an excerpt of him singing in Greek.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Anyone else get goosebumps when they hear <a href="https://twitter.com/regejean?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@regejean</a> sing in Act II? Dirk Maggs and <a href="https://twitter.com/neilhimself?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@neilhimself</a> share more behind the scenes gems from making the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SandmanxAudible?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SandmanxAudible</a>: <a href="https://t.co/FENe8HpJR3">https://t.co/FENe8HpJR3</a> <a href="https://t.co/lUHJdBwKk9">pic.twitter.com/lUHJdBwKk9</a></p> — Audible (@audible_com) <a href="https://twitter.com/audible_com/status/1446158444990451713?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dirk Maggs, the co-executive producer and director, also made an appearance in the clip praising Page’s musical talent.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We have Regé-Jean Page as Orpheus, and it turns out that Regé-Jean Page is not only an excellent actor and an outrageously good-looking chap. He also sings like an angel,” Maggs </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.republicworld.com/entertainment-news/hollywood-news/bridgerton-star-rege-jean-page-sings-like-an-angel-for-the-sandman-audiobook-watch.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">said</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in the video.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I’ve been, and I’ve got to say, it still sends shivers up my spine.”</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: @regejean / Instagram</span></em></p>

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Artist turns in blank canvases after hefty payday

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A daring art heist has been carried out in the most audacious way in a Danish museum. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><a href="https://kunsten.dk/en"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kunsten Museum of Modern Art</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in the Danish city of Aalborg offered artist Jens Haaning to recreate two of his most famous works titled </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">An Average Danish Annual Income</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><em>An Average Austrian Annual Income</em>.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The politically charged artworks used actual banknotes to reflect the average working wage for citizens of Denmark and Austria. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The remakes were set to appear in a current exhibition titled Work it Out, which delves into the role of artists in the labour market. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The institution lent Jens Haaning $117,000AUD to complete the recreations, and offered an extra $9,700 if needed. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As per the contract the artist signed, the money would have to be returned to the museum at the end of the exhibition on January 16th 2022. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Upon receiving a suspicious email from the artist, the museum curators suspected something was not quite right. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The email told the museum that the title of the artwork had been changed, and was now called </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Take the Money and Run</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.  </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844667/jens-haaning.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/1d04863eb9c145c0a60a0ab854c8d506" /></span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credit: Getty Images</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As the museum staff opened the box containing Mr Haaning’s ‘artworks’, they discovered two blank canvases while the cash had completely disappeared. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The money had not been put into the work,” museum director Lasse Andersson told </span><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jens-haaning-take-the-money-and-run-blank-canvases-kunsten-museum-modern-art-denmark/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h"><span style="font-weight: 400;">CBS</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite the controversy, Mr Haaning defended his bold decision. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The work is that I have taken their money,” the artist </span><a href="https://www.dr.dk/lyd/p1/p1-morgen/p1-morgen-2021-09-25"><span style="font-weight: 400;">told Danish radio program P1 Morgen</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of the performance piece and mega-minimalist work.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It’s not theft. It is a breach of contract, and breach of contract is part of the work.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jens Haaning said he thought of the idea as a protest against the small sum he was offered to be included in the exclusive exhibition, as well as making a bold political statement on the status of artists in society. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The artwork is essentially about the working conditions of artists. It is a statement saying that we also have the responsibility of questioning the structures that we are part of.” </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“And if these structures are completely unreasonable, we must break with them.”</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credits: Getty Images</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></p>

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Kiwi tourists targeted in Amazon cruise heist

<p>A pair of Kiwi travellers are among those targeted by bandits in a brazen attack on an Amazon River cruise ship, according to Peruvian authorities.</p> <p>The bold attack saw bandits on a small vessel board the Amazon Discovery tourist boat and rob passengers and crew of goods amount to $US20,000 ($NZA26,200).</p> <p>The cruise ship had two passengers from New Zealand onboard at the time of the attack, as well as tourists from Australia and the US.</p> <p>Oscar Garrido-Lecca, port captain in the river city of Iquitos, told <em><strong><a href="http://www.News.com.au" target="_blank">News.com.au</a></strong></em> that police were hunting through the areas to find the bandits and track down the goods.</p> <p>Have you ever had a hairy situation overseas with fraudsters or bandits? What advice would you offer to people scared about this happening to them?</p> <p>Let us know in the comments. </p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/travel/cruising/2016/07/5-of-the-longest-rivers-in-the-world-to-cruise/"><strong>5 of the longest rivers in the world to cruise</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/travel/cruising/2016/06/12-things-you-have-to-know-about-river-cruises/"><strong>12 things you have to know about river cruises</strong></a></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="/travel/cruising/2016/05/10-best-south-american-cruise-routes/"><strong>10 best South American cruise routes</strong></a></em></span></p>

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