Professional mover finds $16,500 in rare antiquities in the trash

One man's trash turned into Nick DiMola's treasure.

Five years after the Queens rubbish remover took home a mysterious barrel from a SoHo apartment, he opened it to find dozens of ancient Mexican artifacts.

The mix of bowls, figurines and jugs were made between 300 B.C. and 500 A.D., some by Mayans.

They're worth an estimated $16,500 - and DiMola said he's not at all surprised.

"There's always something in the garbage worth money," he said.

DiMola, 39, came to own the booty when his Ridgewood company was hired to clear the cluttered space of abstract artist Clinton Hill, who died in 2003.

Hill left his possessions to his longtime partner, Allen Tran, who died just months later, said John Koegel, a lawyer for their estates.

The couple's property fell to friends, who formed a nonprofit foundation to take the valuables from the studio.

BY Nicholas Hirshon
http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/07/19/2009-07-19_trash_worth_16g_rubbish_guy_finds_a_little_treasure_trove.html