By Suzette Martinez Standring 

At the Wednesday Milton Rotary Club meeting at Abby Park Restaurant, former Milton attorney Fred Barry regaled listeners with fascinating insights into Myles Connor and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist.  Mr. Connor, now age 70, was a major suspect regarding the paintings stolen from the Gardner Museum, and was convicted of art theft from various musems, including taking a Rembrandt from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.  Many locals remember growing up with Mr. Connor, who graduated with MHS Class of 1961.

Mr. Barry’s appearance was in connection to the Milton Reads townwide reading project, sponsored by The Friends of the Milton Library.  The community is encouraged to read its 2013 book selection, The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World’s Largest Unsolved Art Theft by Ulrich Bosner.  The book is a page-turner with surprising ties to Milton, Braintree, and Boston, and Myles Connor, a former Milton resident, is featured as a major suspect.  Books are available for borrowing and for sale at the library.

Mr. Barry who now lives in Duxbury once represented Connor on a civil matter and has remained friends with him over the years. Anapurna Films recently bought the rights to Connor’s autobiography, The Art of the Heist, and will be making a movie soon.  The blueprint for the Gardner museum heist was masterminded by Connor, although he denies involvement.  He was serving time in prison at the time of the actual burglary, and points to another major suspect for stealing and executing his ideas. According to Barry, Connor has a lifelong passion for reptiles, and has a live cobra that has the run of his home in Blackstone, MA.  Mr. Barry recalled a third-grade episode at Tucker School when Connor pulled a small alligator out of his pocket and placed it on the shoulder of the girl sitting in front of him.  At the Rotary meeting, those who grew up with Connor shared their own personal memories.

Mr. Barry was in Milton to talk about Myles Connor for an episode of “It’s All Write With Suzette, a show on Milton Cable Access TV hosted by Suzette Standring. The show will air for two weeks, 6/14 through 7/2: Wednesdays at 7:00 pm; all weekend at 8:30 pm; and Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m. on local Comcast channels 8, 11, 22 and RCN channels 3, 13, 15.  For more information visit Milton Cable Access TV, http://miltonaccesstv.org  or contact Suzette Standring, suzmar@comcast.net