The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday signed off on a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the killing of Assemblyman Mike Gatto's father.
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The reward was announced at an afternoon press conference, where police said they were searching for a "person of interest" who was near the crime scene.
Joseph Gatto, a 78-year-old former teacher, was found shot to death Nov. 13 in his ransacked home in the 2800 block of Bright Lane in Silver Lake.
Gatto was found slumped over a chair with a single gunshot wound to the stomach, detectives said, and was apparently killed about 24 hours earlier.
Police Chief Charlie Beck said detectives were searching for a white man about 18 to 25 years old who was seen in the area the night prior to the killing. He was seen by witnesses brandishing a handgun and attempting to break into a car, police said.
Gatto created "ornate custom-made" rings, bracelets, pendants and necklaces “using precious metals, stones, bone, ivory, porcelain, glass, wood and Egyptian scarabs,” police said.
"He was just a tremendous guy," the assemblyman said in an interview outside his late father's home in November. "He worked very hard to raise us right."
Anyone with information in the case is asked to call the Los Angeles police at 213-486-5910.
