Post by onthejob on Jan 3, 2012 12:07:41 GMT -5
John Capano family focuses on his heroism
January 3, 2012 by BART JONES / bart.jones@newsday.com
John Capano's family members said Monday that they aren't focusing on who fired the shot that killed him, but on the heroic way the federal agent lived -- and lost -- his life.
And his wife, Dori Capano, in her first public statement, said he immediately captivated her when they met at a Georgia training school for federal agents in 1988.
"He was unlike anybody I ever met or will ever meet," Dori Capano, 55, an agent for the Internal Revenue Service, said in the statement provided by other family members. "I was immediately swept off my feet and was taken in by his charm."
She left her home in Hawaii and moved to New York to start a life with John Capano.
"It was the best decision I ever made," she said.
Investigators are still piecing together the last chaotic seconds of the Charlie's Family Pharmacy robbery on Saturday. The shot that killed Capano was believed to have come from the gun of retired Nassau police Lt. Christopher Geraghty, 54, of Woodbury, sources briefed on the investigation said. Geraghty responded to the robbery along with off-duty New York City Police Officer Joseph Arbia, 29, of Seaford.
But Capano's family doesn't hold law enforcement officers responsible for his death.
"We only blame one person for the whole thing, and that was the criminal," Tony Guerriero, 55, Capano's brother-in-law, said in an exclusive interview with Newsday. The two officers at the scene "were all there to do their job and it just played out the way it played out."
His wife, Capano's sister, Maryellen Guerriero, 53, said: "We feel for the family [of the officers] tremendously. I'm sure it's extremely difficult for them as well."
The Guerrieros, speaking on behalf of the rest of the extended family, said John Capano's two children -- John, 18, and Natalie, 15 -- are trying to provide strength to their mother as their father did in his life and would have wanted them to do.
John Capano, who graduated from Chaminade High School in Mineola in May and is a freshman at Northeastern University in Boston, spent part of the day Monday attending a wake for the grandmother of a good friend. His decision to attend exemplified the kind of children Capano and his wife raised, the Guerrieros said.
After Capano was pronounced dead Saturday at Nassau University Medical Center, some family members accompanied the body to the morgue, said Scott Tompkins, one of Capano's brothers-in-law. Fellow agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives took the agency jacket that was draped over Capano's body and handed it to his son, as one said, "Your father was very proud of you," Tompkins said.
"John [the son] was there as strong as ever," Tompkins said. "He's a kid beyond his years."
Natalie Capano, a sophomore at St. John the Baptist High School in West Islip, has "been so poised" despite her grief, said Megan Guerriero, 30. "She's calmer than all of us."
Other Guerriero children described their uncle as a patriot who loved his country, and a man who loved life in general. His passion for almost everything was contagious, even for simple things such as walking the family dog or getting a cup of coffee.
"He was just unbelievably charismatic," said James Guerriero, 28. "If he believed in something, we all believed it. He just had a way about him."
Added Megan Guerriero: "He was extremely passionate about life. He made everybody feel important. He was so proud of us and he knew how to express that."
Anthony Guerriero, 28, said he became an NYPD officer -- he was the fourth generation in the family to serve in law enforcement -- partly because of his uncle's example.
Tony Guerriero recalled that a few years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he attended a Yankees game with his brother-in-law, even though Capano hated the Yankees. The stadium was packed with sailors because it was Fleet Week, and after the game, Capano shook as many of their hands as he could and thanked them for serving the country, Tony Guerriero recalled.
Capano also supported his relatives' charity work -- Megan Guerriero said the only time he missed a fundraiser at the American Cancer Society, where she works, was when he was in Afghanistan on a special ATF mission.
Capano, an explosives expert, didn't talk a lot about his ATF work, and would only briefly allude to the missions he volunteered for in Iraq and Afghanistan, relatives said.
That he survived those missions only to be killed in his hometown "doesn't feel real," said Megan Guerriero. "I feel like I am in a dream and I am waiting to wake up. When I woke up this morning and realized it wasn't a dream, I was shattered."
January 3, 2012 by BART JONES / bart.jones@newsday.com
John Capano's family members said Monday that they aren't focusing on who fired the shot that killed him, but on the heroic way the federal agent lived -- and lost -- his life.
And his wife, Dori Capano, in her first public statement, said he immediately captivated her when they met at a Georgia training school for federal agents in 1988.
"He was unlike anybody I ever met or will ever meet," Dori Capano, 55, an agent for the Internal Revenue Service, said in the statement provided by other family members. "I was immediately swept off my feet and was taken in by his charm."
She left her home in Hawaii and moved to New York to start a life with John Capano.
"It was the best decision I ever made," she said.
Investigators are still piecing together the last chaotic seconds of the Charlie's Family Pharmacy robbery on Saturday. The shot that killed Capano was believed to have come from the gun of retired Nassau police Lt. Christopher Geraghty, 54, of Woodbury, sources briefed on the investigation said. Geraghty responded to the robbery along with off-duty New York City Police Officer Joseph Arbia, 29, of Seaford.
But Capano's family doesn't hold law enforcement officers responsible for his death.
"We only blame one person for the whole thing, and that was the criminal," Tony Guerriero, 55, Capano's brother-in-law, said in an exclusive interview with Newsday. The two officers at the scene "were all there to do their job and it just played out the way it played out."
His wife, Capano's sister, Maryellen Guerriero, 53, said: "We feel for the family [of the officers] tremendously. I'm sure it's extremely difficult for them as well."
The Guerrieros, speaking on behalf of the rest of the extended family, said John Capano's two children -- John, 18, and Natalie, 15 -- are trying to provide strength to their mother as their father did in his life and would have wanted them to do.
John Capano, who graduated from Chaminade High School in Mineola in May and is a freshman at Northeastern University in Boston, spent part of the day Monday attending a wake for the grandmother of a good friend. His decision to attend exemplified the kind of children Capano and his wife raised, the Guerrieros said.
After Capano was pronounced dead Saturday at Nassau University Medical Center, some family members accompanied the body to the morgue, said Scott Tompkins, one of Capano's brothers-in-law. Fellow agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives took the agency jacket that was draped over Capano's body and handed it to his son, as one said, "Your father was very proud of you," Tompkins said.
"John [the son] was there as strong as ever," Tompkins said. "He's a kid beyond his years."
Natalie Capano, a sophomore at St. John the Baptist High School in West Islip, has "been so poised" despite her grief, said Megan Guerriero, 30. "She's calmer than all of us."
Other Guerriero children described their uncle as a patriot who loved his country, and a man who loved life in general. His passion for almost everything was contagious, even for simple things such as walking the family dog or getting a cup of coffee.
"He was just unbelievably charismatic," said James Guerriero, 28. "If he believed in something, we all believed it. He just had a way about him."
Added Megan Guerriero: "He was extremely passionate about life. He made everybody feel important. He was so proud of us and he knew how to express that."
Anthony Guerriero, 28, said he became an NYPD officer -- he was the fourth generation in the family to serve in law enforcement -- partly because of his uncle's example.
Tony Guerriero recalled that a few years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, he attended a Yankees game with his brother-in-law, even though Capano hated the Yankees. The stadium was packed with sailors because it was Fleet Week, and after the game, Capano shook as many of their hands as he could and thanked them for serving the country, Tony Guerriero recalled.
Capano also supported his relatives' charity work -- Megan Guerriero said the only time he missed a fundraiser at the American Cancer Society, where she works, was when he was in Afghanistan on a special ATF mission.
Capano, an explosives expert, didn't talk a lot about his ATF work, and would only briefly allude to the missions he volunteered for in Iraq and Afghanistan, relatives said.
That he survived those missions only to be killed in his hometown "doesn't feel real," said Megan Guerriero. "I feel like I am in a dream and I am waiting to wake up. When I woke up this morning and realized it wasn't a dream, I was shattered."
