Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News (b)
Background
Wood’s father, Dr. Earl Leroy Wood, purchased the painting during the Great Depression in the 1930s for $7,500. During the investigation, the FBI discovered multiple criminal subjects claimed responsibility for the painting’s theft.
According to court documents, on July 7, 1969, three men, identified as Gerald Festa, Gerald Donnerstag, and Austin Costiglione attempted to steal a coin collection from Dr Wood’s residence but failed because of a burglar alarm. The police and then-U.S. Senator Anthony Imperiale responded to the attempted burglary. The home’s caretaker mentioned to Senator Imperale that the 1784 Opie painting was “priceless.”
On July 25, 1969, the same three men returned to Dr. Wood’s home and stole the Opie painting. During Donnerstag’s trial in 1975, Festa testified and confessed to the burglary, saying they had acted under the direction of Senator Imperiale. Festa testified that before the burglary, the three men visited Imperiale’s “clubhouse” and were told exactly where the painting was in Dr. Wood’s home. Festa testified that Imperiale had the painting. However, the claims against the senator were never sufficiently corroborated and he was never charged.
It is believed that law enforcement pressure resulted in the painting’s transfer to another mobster. The painting’s location between 1969 and the late 1980s is unknown but the FBI believes it remained in the hands of organized crime members.