In 2012, the story was featured on Behind Mansion Walls. Oteri told The News Journal last week that he didn't recall the conversation. If you were really going to get the feds involved, you would contact him. "I made a bad mistake in taking a lawyer for a client. I thought it was very weird, Connolly said. The eatery, which is still there, was considered one of the city's great wine destinations and featured classic Italian cuisine. It was dead silent. Judge Lee said it was tough going for the defense. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Defense attorney Joseph A. Hurleyvowed he'd take to hisgrave the reasons why he quit Capano's legal team six months before the October 1998 murder trial began. Criminal defense lawyer Eugene J. Maurer Jr. was atfirstthrilled with the prospect of representing Capano. Tom Carper. Finally, there are two 162-quart Igloo ice coolers one used as a demonstration in court, and one the actual cooler, and Fahey's coffin. "I had torun about amile to get back to my car, drive to my house to get to a telephone, and call in," he said. Brother-in-law Lee Ramunno said Capano died of an apparent heart attack at his home Monday. The case was revived again in 2006 when Capano's death sentence was overturned. ", Joseph S. Oteri, the Boston lawyer who led Capanos Dream Team, was more blunt about representing Capano: I made a bad mistake in taking a lawyer for a client.. A life sentence was his punishment. You talk about divine intervention. Judge Greg Sleet and I laughedbecause Greg Sleet was the U.S. attorney, so he was the chief federal law enforcement officer, and nobody had contacted him, Connolly said. Itmade it easier to find holes in other parts of his testimony. In court testimony, Capano said he laid Fahey's body into the cooler on her side. We held him in extremely high regard," Way said. Louis repeatedly lied to his younger brother in an effort to gain control of Gerry's interest in a family company, according to the complaint. And the guy's refusing. 8, said the first thing the jury did when theywent in to deliberate was to take a vote. He always thought that was not going to happen, Wharton said. "My reaction was Tom Capano should know there really is a God now.. The only good thing about it was Bill Lee. Fahey had met Capano in 1993, and wrote in her diary she fell in love with him on her January 1994 birthday. They went to Stone Harbor, New Jersey, with a large cooler that contained Fahey's body,[citation needed] sailed 62 miles (100km) out to sea, and pushed the cooler overboard. Louis Capano Jr. has alleged that the children's trusts were not legitimate because Thomas Capano's transfers to them were invalid under Delaware law. He applies it without fear of favor. William Swain Lee,the Superior Court judge who presided over the trial,said he was walking on the beach Saturday, January 16, 1999, when hisbeeper went off. ", He also added, "the two prosecutors were straight as arrows. Louis has denied the allegations in both lawsuits, saying while emotions run high in family business disputes, the allegations are "just not true.". He was arrested for her murder in November 1997, over sixteen months after her disappearance. WHYY offers a voice to those not heard, a platform to share everyones stories, a foundation to empower early and lifelong learners and a trusted space for unbiased news. 101 Avenue of the Arts | Wilmington, DE "OK," Lee remembers another juror saying. I know he's living in a rental house, so he wouldn't be buying wallpaper. Instead, Louis preyed on Gerry's fears and problems with alcohol, the lawsuit contends. It was a combination of little boy charm and school yard bullying, in equal measure.". As the monthslong trial began, Lee watched the attorneys present evidence and question witnesses who would later help her, and others jurors, reach their conclusions. Joseph Michael Capano, age 62, died suddenly at home on Monday, August 10, 2015. She shares that she bought a .22-caliber gun at Capanos request. The search is messy, and officers come up empty. We are a family. Capano Management is a privately held, fully integrated real estate company headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware whose strategic acquisition, financing, development, home building, leasing and. That's what this is all about,'" Connolly said. ", Oteri, who joined the defense team only months before the trial started,drops a bombshell in his opening statement: He says while Capano did dump Faheys body at sea, she died from an outrageous, horrible, tragic accident.. A traumatized Lee asked a bailiff to escort her to her hotel bedroom. "I actually had spoken withher once on the phone, as it turns out. "My reaction was Tom Capano should know there really is a God now. ", "As we were leaving, Mr. Oteri, the lead defense attorney andcertainly the most flamboyant of the group, said, 'Can I go off the record, Judge? Joseph Capano also was no stranger controversy in business. The office is nearthe old Daniel L. Herrmann Courthouse, now the home of the law firm Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor. I knew what was going on, but played dumb," Stella wrote in a 2017 essay for The News Journal. "I think I was probably facing the reality he was, infact, guilty of premeditated murder," Hurley said. "Wilmington is a small town, a gossipy place," he said on the witness stand on Dec. 17, 1998. You have Anne Marie Fahey who worked for the governor and she had a family that a lot of people knew. However, in 1734, Spaniard Don Carlos defeated the Austrians, and the region came under Spanish rule once more. Police looked through his home and a Jeep Grand Cherokee, but, at that time, found no signs of Fahey. According to his Linkedin profile, Scanlan left MBNA in June 1999 and is now assistant headmaster at St. Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey. [Attorney Charles]Oberly and I took a back seat as lead counsel Oteri orchestrated the weekly meetings with Tomat the prison where the two of them would try to out-manipulate the other. Capanos attorneys try to talk him out of selecting young women. "He had gained a massive amount of weight since the trial,"Connolly said. Lee, wholeft her high heels on to compensate for Fahey's height,wanted to see if a body would fit. Capano died of a heart attack on Sept. 19, 2011, at age 61 at the Vaughn Correctional Center near Smyrna, where he was serving the life sentence. Atone point, Capano had even plannedto put a hit on him. ", And there was a very brief meeting withCapano well before the investigation, "I was a very junior prosecutoron a team of prosecutorswho prosecutedKermit Justice, who had been Delaware's Secretary of Transportation. Connollys ability to bring out the anger in Capano, showed jurors another picture of the former prosecutor who, on the stand, was portraying himself as a meek man. Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3. She had been having an affair with lawyer Thomas Capano, who was married and the father of four daughters.When she tried to end the affair, Capano shot her in the head, placed her body in a cooler and dumped it in the ocean off Mako Island in Southern New Jersey. The next working day, July 8, the FBI called us.". In one of the case's most surprising twists, the abandoned cooler was found floating in the Atlantic Ocean by four fishermen about a week after Gerry Capano unsuccessfully tried to sink it by firing a slug into it with a 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun. Oteri's brash style became one of the trial's hallmarks, but he said the defense was full of challenges. Joe was the son of proud parents Louis and Marguerite Capano. He was a good judge. When it was operating, the intimate Italian restaurantwas visited by some of the big names on both sides of the Capano murder trial. He was the kind of personyou would see at the check-out line atAcme. Capano had been a partner in a couple big law firms, Morris James and Saul Ewing. MacIntyre is remarried and now working at the American Society of Cytopathology, a nonprofit organization in Wilmington. He was a frightening, scary figure. All rights reserved. I ended upscheduling it through Anne Marie. The lead story of The News Journal that day was President Clinton offered federal assistance. On July 5, 1996, Clinton said the federal government would help with the search. Connolly says a man called Robert Squeaky Saunders shot a victim in the head, threw the body in a canal and disposed of the gun. Tom Capano told his attorney Joseph S. Oteri that he first rejected putting Fahey's body into a brand-new garbage can. Capano, 61, apparently died of natural causes. ", Oteri said being Capano's attorney "didn't make me feel anything but pissed off because I kept saying, 'You're paying me an enormous fee and you're not listening to me. The climb into the cooler-turned-casket convinced Erin Reilly Lee and the jury of five other women and six menthat Capano was a manipulative liar,a cold-blooded killer. Judge Lee recalled after the women were included on the jury, he was approached by Oteri who said, "'Can I go off the record, Judge?' "We weren't friends. Louis' lawyer could not be reached for comment. On the 20th anniversary of Capano's arrest, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. ", "The longest conversation I had with him was in the dog park at Rockford Park. You know, could she just fit?. [citation needed] In April 2008, the U.S. District Court rejected Capano's habeas corpus petition,[7] and on September 2, 2008, the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed. He also had "atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease, and that obesity was a contributing factor in his death". Lee, 28 years old at the time and knownasErin Reilly, was just a few inches shorter and weighed about the same as Fahey. "I didn't want to ask him and hear the answer," Hurley said. Sunday morning thejury found Capano, then 49, guilty of the first-degree murder of 30-year-old Fahey, a scheduling secretary for then-Gov. Capano Foundation donates $225,000 to Exceptional Care for Children. Exceptional Care for Children, Delaware's only pediatric skilled nursing facility, recently received a $225,000 donation from the Louis Capano Family Foundation toward the construction of their Bridge Unit building. Capano, overweight with sallow skin and a wispy, white beard, no longer resembled the fit, polished, man-about-town he had once been. MacIntyre, known now as Debby MacIntyre Sheldon, declined to be interviewed. It closed in December 2004. Want a digest of WHYYs programs, events & stories? They frequently met up at OFriels Irish Pub, a then-popular bar in downtown Wilmington. Judge Lee, in a recent interview, said it is astonishing that the cooler had been discovered off Indian River Inlet, 100miles from where it had been thrown into the ocean. It was not to be. My brain just kind of stopped, she said. "He told me that he was a suspect in a murder case. Maurer said the excitementslowly ebbedas the case wore on. Wharton, now a Superior Court judge, said the court retains all the evidence while there's still ongoing litigation. Capano had apparently stuffed the 5-foot-10-inch body of his younger, secret girlfriend, Anne Marie Fahey, into the ice chest after she was shot to death at his home with a gun bought by Deborah A. MacIntyre, one of his other longtime mistresses. The lawsuit charged that after their mother died in February 2013, Louis "fraudulently ousted" him from Capano Investments to gain exclusive control over the company and "all the Capano entities. For a few days in the summer of 1996, the disappearance of Anne Marie Fahey seemed to be little more than a missing person case. Judge William Swain Leesentenced Capano to death. How stupid can you be?, Nah, nah, Oteri quoted Capano as saying. He became an affluent lawyer, state prosecutor, Wilmington city attorney, legal counsel to Governor Mike Castle, and political consultant, well known in Delaware's political circles. Steven Oliveira and Bernadette Oliveira, of New. Gerry told police that Capano shot the cooler in order to sink it, but that the cooler remained afloat in the water. Married with four daughters, Capano separated from his wife Kay the following year. A final last-minute surprise comes when a neighbor of MacIntyre comes forward in the remaining few days of the trial to say she saw a sobbing MacIntyre stumble out of her car on the night around when Fahey is killed. Her family started a vigil on the front porch of the Washington Street apartment. Nearly 20 years later, the trial continues to be surreal for Erin Reilly Lee, whose willing venture into Fahey'splastic coffin helped bring focus to a divided jury and sealed Capanos fate. Anne Marie Fahey was a young,attractive woman. The most Capano families were found in USA in 1920. The Capanos: A house in ruins Over three decades, Louis J. Capano Sr. gave hissons a name of which they could be proud. This marked the first time in Delaware state history, in which a person was convicted of murder, without a body or murder weapon. "I'm not sure why. [3] In September 1995, while still involved with Capano, Fahey began another relationship with Michael Scanlan.[4]. The case takes a twist when Capano attorney Joseph A. Hurleyannounces in early April 1998 he's quitting the defense team. From Fahey's disappearance on June 27, 1996, to Capano's conviction on Jan. 17, 1999, the public devoured every morsel of information uncovered. He is survived by his wife, Joanne, and four grown children, Ramunno said. "They wanted the record madeclear thatshould not be a basis forquestioning their competenceduring the proceedings. Murder Victim. It was one of very few first-degree U.S. murder cases that got a conviction eventhough therewasno body, no weapon and no witness to the killing. My brother's insisting and the guy's still refusing. The families of both Fahey and Capano reacted to the death Monday. The Louis Capano Family Foundation was established as a public charitable organization in 2006 by Louis J. Capano Jr. and Louis J. Capano III to raise essential funding and awareness for the nonprofits of Delaware with a specific focus on children and families in need. Once his appeals ran out, I think it was suicide by food," said Lee, who retired from the bench nine months after the trial. Because he always had. Wilmington-area developer Joseph M. Capano, whose family was embroiled in the notorious killing of a governor's secretary by his brother Thomas, has died. The burglary never happened. After years of unsuccessfully trying to resolve my differences with Joseph, for the sake of the business, I chose to exercise my rights under Delaware law and to provide Joseph with, what I believe, to be a fair financial resolution.". We were later joined by a Florida attorney who had attended school with Tom and showed up uninvited at the prison, proceeding to convince Tom that he would be an invaluable part of the defense team," Maurer said. Murder. Time marches on and the bar has closed. After his phone call, Capano parked his car at the end of the street where Helmbreck'sdaycare provider lived and waited for herto pass by. More:ARCHIVE: FBI sought weapons in Capano's home. Thomas J. Capano, 61, a rich and influential Wilmington lawyer who fell from the halls of power to a death-row cell for murdering his former mistress, died behind bars Monday. Joseph denied the rape charge, saying he was having an affair with the woman, who once babysat his children. Family. Explore historical records and family tree profiles about Louis Capano on MyHeritage, the world's family history network. I knew enough about Capano at that point, because we're a week or so into the investigation, I know that he was not the kind of guy who does home improvements himself. WHYY provides trustworthy, fact-based, local news and information and world-class entertainment to everyone in our community. Capano Plumbing and Heating has been servicing all of Delaware since 1952. Both cases have been consolidated into one, and discovery is underway. Gerry owned a boat and, when it was sold, its two anchors were missing. 2023 www.delawareonline.com. Its how we live. An outraged Capano asks an inmate, Nicholas Perillo, to arrange to burglarize MacIntyres house to intimidate her. For complete coverage, including past stories, videos and more, Prosecutor Colm Connolly: Tom Capano tried to take a hit out on me, 'This is Tom, Tom Capano,' said the man on the phone, ARCHIVE: Capano held in murder of Anne Marie Fahey, Prosecutor Ferris Wharton: The moment I remember the most is the cooler, Defense attorney Maurer: I wanted to withdraw from Tom Capano case, ARCHIVE: FBI sought weapons in Capano's home, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Ethical boundaries were of no consideration to him in formulating his defense strategy, as was demonstrated by the evidence at trial. Twenty years after he was arrested, the Thomas J. Capano murder mystery continues to fascinate because of its alluring and grim elements: sex, power, wealth, politics, secret affairs, lurid moments and an extraordinary reversal of fortune that wouldn't ring true if written in a crime novel. Fahey was last seen alive on June 27, 1996, when she went to dinner with Capano in Philadelphia. Duringthe 1950s, '60s and '70s, as Capano built homesthroughout New Castle County, the familyreputation was one of quality and integrity. He said he would confer with Capano's family and estate before deciding how to proceed with the lawsuit. It definitely was surprising. Anthony J. Stella once owned a popular Italian eatery,LOsteria Cucina Italiana, on Marsh Road in Penny Hill. According to testimony, he turned around in time to see a human foot sink into the deep waters. ", It touched upon Capano'slove of music and places in Wilmington, some no longer open. They called the number, the person who answered said, Airbase Carpet.. Connolly said on aJuly Fourth weekend in 1996hewas at the Acme Market on U.S. 202 when heran into Judge Greg Sleet, then the U.S. Attorney and Connolly'sboss. Marilee was born in Michigan to the late John Walton and Mary Titus Walton. I don't think Keith ever really accepted the fact that he was going to be a witness. Joe Capano in September 2008 at the Charmie Welch Open. Capano then retrieved the cooler, removed the body, and wrapped the anchor chains around it. He was 62. Authorities believe one of the reasons Capano killed Fahey was his jealousy of Scanlan, a devout Catholic who testified his relationship with Fahey was not sexual. [11], A 2000 episode of The FBI Files, title "Deadly Obsession,"[12] and an episode of the CBS News documentary program 48 Hours featured the case. New Jersey had the highest population of Capano families in 1880. Tom Carper. The macabre situation, and the enormity of what had happened to Fahey, suddenly became real and overwhelming. No trial date has been set. Years before being selected as a juror, Erin Reilly Lee remembers longtime friends talking about search parties being formed for a missing woman whod grown up near her childhood neighborhood. He never did the promised interview. Gerard and Louis both testified against their brother and pleaded guilty to lesser crimes after the trial. Weeks later, brother Gerry filed his own lawsuit against Louis for allegedly defrauding him at a vulnerable period in his life. Members of the Capano family reached by The News Journal declined to comment. Jurors helped the young woman into the cooler and then watched as Lee tried to "squoosh myself smaller" to give others anaccurate picture.
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