Jack Palladino, a celebrated private investigator who worked for radicals, celebrities and former President Bill Clinton, died in San Francisco on Monday after sustaining a head injury during a suspected robbery attempt, family members and authorities said. He was 76.
The alleged crime took place shortly before 5pm on Thursday when Palladino stepped out of his home in the town of Haight-Asbury and a man tried to steal his camera, according to local police and the San Francisco Chronicle.
Witnesses told police they saw Palladino struggling with a suspect over the camera. As the car drove away from the suspect, the investigating officer fell to the ground and left him critically injured, a grandson, Ash Ivanov, told NBC News.
Lawrence Thomas, 24, and Tyjone Flournoy, 23, were arrested on suspicion of attempted robbery, aggravated kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon and other crimes, police said.
Prison records show both men are being held in the San Francisco County Jail. None of them have a lawyer yet, a Defense Department spokesman said.
After four decades as an investigator, Palladino would retire after a final case with his wife and colleague, the alleged crime took place, the Chronicle reported.
Palladino began his career in the 1970s after attending the University of California at Berkeley.
Among Palladino’s popular clients was the family of newspaper heiress Patty Hearst after she was abducted by left-wing militants; Clinton during his first presidential campaign; Black Panther leader, Huey Newton; and the disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein.