Chilean Beggar Leaves Fortune

SANTIAGO, Chile — When Dario Cortesi died two months ago, it took authorities three days to locate his sister, Lucia, to have her take care of a modest burial for the 69-year-old beggar.

But when Cortesi’s sister went through his tumbledown shack in Capitan Pastene, a small town 415 miles south of Santiago, she found documents showing he had more than $300,000 in savings. He also owned several houses.

Cortesi, the son of an Italian immigrant, also had been receiving the equivalent of $2,000 monthly from the state pension systems in Chile and Italy. Cortesi’s will leaves most of the money to a local convent, but by law, his family is entitled to part of it.