US-CRIME-ART-MUSEUM

An empty frame at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum on December 27, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest property crime in US history: the three-decade-old theft of Rembrandt and Vermeer masterpieces from a Boston museum by thieves disguised as police officers in the dead of night. But as the clock ticks toward midnight on New Year's Eve, one detective sits patiently by the telephone and computer screen: could the next call or email finally lead to their recovery and the payout of a $10 million reward? I'm very hopeful," says Anthony Amore, director of security at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, who worked previously for Homeland Security and likens his current role to that of a private detective. / AFP PHOTO / Ryan McBride / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - TO GO WITH AFP STORY by Ryan McBride and Jennie Matthew "Calls 'snowball' in US countdown to $10 mn art reward" - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (Photo credit should read RYAN MCBRIDE/AFP via Getty Images)