Overview

• An 18th century painting by British artist John Opie, 'The Schoolmistress', stolen by New Jersey mobsters in 1969, has been returned to the family of the original owner, Dr. Francis Wood.
• The painting was allegedly passed through the hands of mobsters and even a state senator before going off the radar for some 50 years.
• The painting was discovered in the estate of a man who had purchased a home from a convicted mobster, Joseph Covello Sr., in 1989, unaware of the painting's history.
• No arrests have been made in connection with the theft as everyone presumed involved is dead.
• The painting is now hanging in Dr. Wood's retirement home, next to another Opie painting the family bought in the 1980s.