Post by Scumhunter on Aug 11, 2023 21:18:54 GMT -5
(Above photo credits: nbcnews.com)
From nbcnews.com:
It’s been nearly a decade since 78-year-old Joseph Gatto was found dead in Los Angeles, California.
He was found shot to death in his Silver Lake home on the 2800 block of Bright Lane on November 13, 2013.
Joseph’s son, Mike Gatto, told Dateline that his father was a true Renaissance man.
“He was somebody who could take apart an engine. He could wire electricity in a house. He could, uh, make gold into jewelry. He could paint. He could draw,” Mike Gatto said. “He could do just about anything that the people could do in the Renaissance. Except he lived in modern society.”
Joseph had been a lifelong teacher. “He was so dedicated to his teaching that in -- it was something like 47 years -- he did not miss a day of work,” Mike told Dateline.
Joseph’s dedication was recognized over and over again. In 1985, he helped found the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. In 1986, he was given the Bravo Award as ‘California Arts Teacher of the Year.’ Joseph was honored twice at the White House, first by Ronald Reagan and later by George W. Bush.
And Joseph’s work didn’t stop with teaching.
Mike told Dateline that after working all day at the high school, his father would come home, change quickly, and turn right back around to head out to Dodger’s Stadium to sell peanuts. He also held a third job on the weekends -- all to provide for his family.
“The thing I remember most about my father growing up was how hard he worked,” Mike said. “His mission in life was to give us a better life.”
When Mike grew up, he became a California state assemblyman and started a family of his own. “When I had children, he would always say, you know, ‘Michael, uh, don’t forget to smell the roses,’” Mike told Dateline. “And I think that came from the realization that he didn’t always smell the roses. And I never took it seriously until he passed away.”
That November of 2013 changed everything for the Gatto family. It also showed them just what kind of impact Joseph had on others.
“We held his funeral at this church that I had been an altar boy at when I was a kid that has capacity for about 300 people. Um, about 1,100 people showed up,” Mike said. “I remember during the eulogy when I -- I said, you know, ‘Anybody who my father has touched their life, please stand up.’ It was like half the church, right? And that to me is how he should be remembered.”
But now, nearly a decade later, Joseph’s case has gone cold.
“I think it’s safe to say with my father’s case, which is now officially a cold case, it’s either something really, really simple and that really afforded my father some really awful luck,” Mike said. “Or it’s something crazily complicated that none of us can even wrap our heads around.”
One avenue the police explored had to do with one of Joseph’s hobbies: jewelry-making. Mike told Dateline that some of Joseph’s jewelry was missing from his father’s home.
“The police have posted some of my father’s jewelry, um, with the hopes that people would recognize it, ‘cause it’s rather unique,” Mike said. “If someone tried to pawn it, we would at least have a lead of where it went.”
Shortly after Joseph’s murder, the police also released a sketch of a car burglar who was seen in the area on the night of the murder. Some witnesses had come forward saying that they saw the suspect brandishing a gun.
That person has never been identified.
“I have been on camera many times begging the public for help,” Mike said. “I feel comfortable that if somebody knew something, they would have stepped forward.”
However, since the search for answers has come up empty and nearly 10 years have passed, Mike told Dateline that he would like to ask the public for help, once again.
“I would ask the public again that if anybody knows anything -- if they can remember back to that night and they remember, uh, somebody who fits the general description acting strange around November of 2013, then come forward,” Mike said.
The city of Los Angeles is offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to the identity of the person or persons responsible for Joseph Gatto’s death.
Anyone with information can call the Los Angeles Police Department at 1-877-LAPD-24-7. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call 1-800-222-TIPS.
www.nbcnews.com/dateline/cold-case-spotlight/son-dedicated-finding-answers-father-joseph-gatto-was-found-shot-death-rcna94301
Thoughts? I am placing Joseph's case in the national media section because of the above coverage from Dateline NBC.
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