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Crime & Safety

Man Found Dead in Fountain Identified

Cause of death is still under investigation by Los Angeles County Coroner.

The man in a shopping center fountain on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City has been identified by the coroner’s office as 49-year-old Robert Lucia Cattarini.

No visible signs of trauma were found on Cattarini’s body when it was discovered on the morning of Nov. 25, lying in a shallow fountain in front of the Jamba Juice and California Pizza Kitchen. The businesses are located in the California Pavilion shopping center at 12265 Ventura Blvd., between Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Whitsett Avenue.

Los Angeles County Coroner’s Assistant Chief Ed Winter said the cause of death has not yet been determined.

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"It usually takes six to eight weeks to investigate a cause of death in a case like this," Winter said.

Cattarini was originally from Hartsdale, NY, and had been living in Palm Springs, according to his brother, Leo, of Mamaroneck, NY, who was contacted by Studio City Patch.

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Leo said his family would get calls from Robert every few weeks, but Robert provided little information about how he was doing.

“He was being assisted in a place in Palm Springs,” Leo said. “I’m not even sure what the situation was. He kind of never gave us an idea of what he was doing.”

Leo was not able to speak at length about his brother because Patch contacted him at the restaurant he owns in Elmsford, NY. He said he would provide more information to Patch later Thursday when he was off work. (See the full follow-up story.)

An Internet search by Patch found a 1997 article from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin newspaper titled "Hope for the Hopeless" that featured a picture of him. The article was about a housing facility for the mentally-ill homeless called Safe Haven.

An obituary posted on the website of the The Journal News in Cattarini’s hometown of Hartsdale, NY, had this information about him:

Robert Cattarini was born on Dec. 13, 1961 in Brooklyn, NY. He passed away suddenly in Los Angeles, Calif. on Nov. 25, 2011. He was raised in Hartsdale. Robert spent his early life helping his parents in various restaurants that they owned. He was an avid traveler and loved warm places. Settling in Honolulu, Hawaii; West Palm Beach, Fla. and most recently in Palm Springs, Calif. He is survived by his mother, Antionette of Hartsdale; his brother, Leo and sister-in-law, Patricia of Mamaroneck.

There was a mass at Sacred Heart RC Church in Hartsdale on Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 10 A.M. Interment at Ferncliff Cemetery.

— Patch Regional Editor Richard Core contributed to this report.

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