A British painting stolen by mobsters is returned to the owner's son - 54 years later

An 18th century British painting stolen by New Jersey mobsters in 1969 has been returned more than a half-century later to the family that bought it for $7,500 during the Great Depression, the FBI's Salt Lake City field office announced Friday.

The 40-inch-by-50-inch (102-cm-by-127-cm) John Opie painting — titled "The Schoolmistress" — is the sister painting of a similar work housed in the Tate Britain art gallery in London.

Authorities believe the piece was stolen with the help of a former New Jersey lawmaker, then passed among organized crime members for years before it ended up in the south...