Robert Donati

Robert Donati
An undated booking photo of Donati from early in his life
Born	(1940-06-04)June 4, 1940 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Disappeared	September 21, 1991 (aged 51) Revere, Massachusetts
Cause of death	Homicide by beating and stabbing
Body discovered	September 24, 1991
Residence	Revere
Other names	Bobby D
Citizenship	U.S.
Years active	1958–1991
Known for	Possibly masterminding the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft
Relatives	Richard Donati
Allegiance	Patriarca crime family

Robert Donati (June 4, 1940 – c. September 21, 1991), who went by Bobby and was known by the nickname Bobby D, was an American career criminal associated with the New England-based Patriarca crime family, along with his twin brother Richard ("Dicky"). His criminal history dates to 1958, when he was 17; he and his brothers were long believed to be part of the Angiulo Brothers' crew, with whom they carried out burglaries. On September 24, 1991, three days after he had last been seen alive leaving his house in the Boston suburb of Revere, his body, bound, beaten and stabbed, was found in the trunk of his Cadillac a short distance away. The killing remains unsolved.

Donati's death has long been attributed to the struggle between two factions for control of the Patriarca family at that time, after Raymond Patriarca, Jr. proved unable to unite the family following his father's death; he also was reportedly a government informant although federal prosecutors have denied it. In recent years, however, he has been identified as the mastermind behind the 1990 theft of art worth $500 million from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the largest art theft ever; there are some accounts that link his death to that crime instead. It has been reported that he stole the art in an attempt to get his boss, Vincent M. Ferrara, released from jail in order to ensure he would not be killed by the rival faction, which was gaining control of the Patriarca family at that time. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which had him under heavy surveillance at the time of his death, has not seemed interested in him as a suspect in the theft, which it is still investigating.