In the moments after Assemblyman Mike Gatto learned that his father had been shot to death in a family home in Silver Lake on Wednesday night, the Democrat put in frantic a call to a longtime friend.
Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino, a former Los Angeles police officer, said Gatto called him after his father, 78-year-old Joseph Gatto, was found dead about 8:15 p.m., the Los Angeles Times reported.
Buscaino, who described the Gatto clan as being like family, said he immediately notified City Council President Herb Wesson and Mayor Eric Garcetti, who lives in the same Silver Lake neighborhood where Joseph Gatto was killed. He was found slumped over a desk by his daughter Wednesday night after she hadn't heard from him all day. Los Angeles police said the house had been ransacked, but were still investigating a motive.
Buscaino first met Gatto's son, Mike, at the annual Feast of San Gennaro festival in Hollywood years ago. Both were interested in politics and came from large Italian American families. They bonded instantly.