CHAPTER 7 - The Great Emulator

Anthony Eugene Tetro, facing new evidence that emerged at the end of his 1991 trial, pleaded no contest in February 1993 to a conspiracy count and six counts of forging works of Salvador Dali, Joan Miro, Hiro Yamagata, Marc Chagall and Norman Rockwell. As part of his plea agreement with the Los Angeles district attorney's office, Tetro could have been sentenced to six months in jail, ordered to provide 200 hours of community service and paint a mural on a building or wall.

However, at his sentencing two months later, Superior Court Judge Michael Tynan decided to waive the jail time, saying Tetro had suffered enough anxiety while awaiting the outcome of his case.

The community service would involve painting the mural on a public wall or building and working with high school students in a traffic safety program.

Tynan warned Tetro that noncompliance with the other terms of his sentence could land him in jail. "If you at any time decide you don't want to do (what was ordered) or this becomes too onerous for you, let me know," the judge told Tetro. "I'll have a bed and a whole new set of friends waiting for you."

Tetro complied with all the terms of the sentence, working with the high school students, restoring existing murals and painting a large mural on the side of the Centro Maravilla Service Center, 4716 E. Cesar Chavez Avenue, portraying a half dozen people looking up at an eight-foot outstretched helping hand of the community. After completing his sentence, Tetro returned to the canvas, reproducing the works of famous artists but clearly marking each of the paintings as a reproduction.

The elimination of the jail sentence came as a disappointment to Deputy District Attorney Laura Aalto, who had taken over the case from Reva Goetz, who had gone into private practice. "I thought he should have done jail time," Aalto said. "Going to jail - that's punishment."