A reputed mobster accused by the FBI of being linked to long-sought paintings stolen from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990 has pleaded not guilty to weapons charges.
Robert Gentile of Manchester is accused of being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition and selling a loaded gun to a convicted murderer. The U.S. attorney's office said he entered his plea in federal court Tuesday. The story was first reported by The Hartford Courant.
A federal judge denied bail to the 79-year-old Gentile.
Prosecutors said last month that Gentile told an undercover FBI agent he had access to two paintings and could negotiate their sale for $500,000 each.
Gentile's lawyer says the FBI believes his client has not been forthcoming with everything he knows about the heist and has set him up for arrests twice in the last three years.
