Leonardo Augustus Patterson was born on April 15, 1942, in Limon, a city on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. Little is thought about his household historical past. He mentioned that his father left house when he was very younger and that his mom, a farmer, died when he was a young person.
He mentioned he discovered his first antiquity, a shard of historic pottery, in a yam subject when he was 7.
He moved to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, when he was 15. There, he discovered work with a jeweler, who tasked him with melting down gold rings and necklaces that looters introduced in from unprotected archaeological websites.
However Mr. Patterson noticed additional potential.
“I puzzled why I needs to be melting these previous issues right down to make a horrible ring out of them,” he instructed the German journal Der Spiegel in 2016.
After promoting gadgets regionally for a number of years, he moved to Miami, the place he imported them for native galleries. An opportunity encounter with a rich collector led to alternatives in New York, the place he had moved by the late Seventies.
Mr. Patterson saved his household life largely secret. He claimed to have no less than 13 kids by 5 totally different ladies. An inventory of survivors was not instantly obtainable.
Although few individuals doubted that Mr. Patterson had dedicated an extended record of crimes, even a few of his antagonists admitted that he had an endearing aspect. They cited his serene persona and his dry wit — a quiet charisma that appeared to undergird his complete profession.
“He was a lovable man,” Mr. Model mentioned.
When he instructed Mr. Patterson that he was planning to write down a guide about him, Mr. Model recalled, Mr. Patterson replied, “Please, simply wait till I’m lifeless.”
Tom Mashberg contributed reporting.
