Lawyer: Prolific Pittsburgh graffiti artist dies of overdose
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A Pittsburgh man known for graffiti art that earned him a 2 ½- to 5-year prison sentence for causing $700,000 damage has died of a heroin overdose.
Defense attorney Marco Attisano tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that 31-year-old Daniel Montano died Saturday.
Montano served more than two years of that sentence after pleading guilty in 2008 to spraying his signature tag “MFONE” on 79 properties.
Police last year charged Montano with tagging dozens more properties, including the police department’s investigations branch office.
Det. Alphonso Sloan testified that he recognized Montano’s graffiti “style” from prior incidents, but an Allegheny County jury acquitted Montano of all 39 new counts in May.
Attisano says Montano “was a gentle soul, a talented artist. It’s really sad.”