Two men suspected of masquerading as police officers to rob a Boston art museum of $500 million worth of masterpieces in 1990 are dead, the FBI says.

Two years ago, investigators announced they knew who stole the 13 works, including paintings by Rembrandt and Vermeer, from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. They refused to elaborate, saying only that the investigation was now focused on recovering the missing artwork.

But Peter Kowenhoven, the FBI's assistant special agent in charge in Boston, now says the thieves are dead but has declined to identify them.

Yesterday, authorities released grainy surveillance video from the eve of the heist and appealed again for the public for help in finding the artworks.

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