...And Never Let HerGo

addition to the place he built at the shore in Stone Harbor, New Jersey, Lou decided they needed another vacation spot. Delaware could be bitterly cold in the winter, so he bought a place in Boca Raton, Florida, that they could all share. Boca Raton, which means “the mouth of the rat” in Spanish despite its exotic soft sound, drew some of the richest tourists in America.
    Marguerite and Lou had always been supportive of St. Anthony’s Catholic Church and they helped Father Roberto Balducellias much as they could. Father Roberto had always been tremendously impressed that their young son would be so concerned with the less fortunate. The priest felt that the church needed a center for its social work, and he approached church members to serve on the board of St. Anthony’s Community Center. Tom joined the board of directors and often stayed after the meetings to talk with Father Roberto. He was very much interested in the welfare of children, and supported Father Roberto’s project to provide a summer camp for children of the inner city. The camp, located close to the Delaware-Pennsylvania border, was called St. Anthony’s of the Hills and was built against the better judgment of many parishioners, who believed it meant too much debt for the church to take on. But Tom welcomed the controversy, and he donated his time and his money generously to the church.
    A FTER two years as a deputy attorney general, Tom decided to take a job in the private sector. Although he figured he could never hope to equal his brothers’ income, he needed more money. “I really liked those jobs,” he recalled. “I liked being in the courthouse . . . but I knew I couldn’t do it for a career. I was recruited by a law firm here in Wilmington.”
    Tom’s new position with Morris, James, Hitchens & Williams didn’t pay appreciably more than his state job at first—but there was great opportunity for advancement. After a year and a half, his salary would increase. It was a general law firm—nothing exciting or particularly challenging—but a good solid spot for a young family man. Now, with his new prospects, he could afford to buy a house.
    Tom and Kay Capano wanted very much to have children, but after five years of marriage, Kay still had not become pregnant. All around them, other couples were having children so easily, but they weren’t. They talked with Father Roberto and decided to apply to adopt a baby through Catholic Children’s Services.
    Knowing that they
would
have children—one way or another—Tom and Kay went house hunting. They finally settled on a home that would have enough room for a dozen children; the Catholic diocese was selling the place that had been a residence for a succession of local bishops. The huge white stucco house on the corner of Seventeenth and Greenhill covered over half a city block with all its additions and annexes. Built in 1920, it had many large formal rooms and reception areas. Although the bishops had not servedliquor, there was a grand bar area. The basement recreation room was all done in the finest woods, fitted out by a cabinetmaker.
    The lot was 18,740 square feet, and it would only go up in value because it was in a good neighborhood near parks and schools. Although almost everyone else in the family was living in a Capano-built home, Kay and Tom decided to buy the house in August of 1978. It
was
a good investment; ten years later, it would have an assessed value many times what they had paid. Their contemporaries had homes with three bedrooms, a bath and a half, and a recreation room with a vinyl floor and plywood-paneled walls. Tom and Kay had a house that could easily have held two or three of their friends’ places.
    Tom moved steadily up through the ranks at Morris, James, Hitchens & Williams, his salary now far more than he had ever made as a prosecutor. He and Kay had a circle of friends—other young lawyers and their wives at Morris, James. He kept his friends from the courthouse. They went to the shore in the summer and to Boca Raton in the winter.
    Although Tom was invariably friendly, one young attorney would recall that he could be a little stodgy and more than a little stubborn if he didn’t get his own way. Several couples had driven down to Boca Raton during spring break week, and everyone thought it would be fun to go for dinner at one of the spots where the college kids were welcome. Not Tom. He suggested that they go to one of the most expensive