Police issue alert seeking jewelry made by Joseph Gatto

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details.

The Los Angeles Police Department has issued an appeal in its efforts to locate jewelry made by Assemblyman Mike Gatto’s father, Joseph Gatto, who was shot to death in his Los Feliz home.

Investigators believe last month’s slaying of the 78-year-old may have resulted from a home invasion robbery. They issued an alert earlier this month, seeking any of his jewelry that may have been purchased or sold by pawn shops, the Glendale News-Press reported.

Joseph Gatto was an artist and craftsman who created ornate, custom-made jewelry such as rings, bracelets, pendants and necklaces, using precious metals, stones, bone, ivory, porcelain, glass, wood and Egyptian scarabs.

The elder Gatto engraved many of his pieces with his initials and name ‘J A Gatto’ along with a circular design, according to a department press release.

Anyone with information is asked to LAPD detectives at (213) 486-6890.

[For the record, 5:30 p.m. PST, Dec. 30: A previous version of this post and a previous headline said the alert was issued by police on Saturday and that it was the second of two alerts released. There was only one alert, and it was released earlier this month.]

Traeger is a reporter for Times Community News.

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