Francesco Caprio (born November 24, 1936) is an American retired judge and politician who served as the chief judge of the municipal court of Providence, Rhode Island, and chairman of the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education. His judicial work is televised on the program Caught in Providence.[3][4] He has also made appearances in the series Parking Wars, adjudicating several cases of traffic violations. The Caught in Providence YouTube channel has 2.85 million subscribers.[5]
In 2017, his videos in the courtroom went viral, with more than 15 million views.[6][7] In 2022, views of Caught in Providence neared 500 million,[8] and one video shared on Pulptastic had 43.6 million views on YouTube.[9] He became well known for his empathy and light humor in court.[10]
Early life and education
Caprio was born in the Italian American neighborhood of Federal Hill, Providence, the second of the three sons of Antonio Caprio, an immigrant from Teano, Italy, and Filomena Caprio, an Italian American mother from Providence whose family had immigrated from Naples, Italy.[11] His father worked as a fruit peddler and milkman.[11][12]
Caprio attended the Providence public schools while working as a dishwasher and shoe-shiner. He graduated from Central High School, where he won the state title in wrestling in 1953.[13] He earned a bachelor's degree from Providence College.[14] After graduating, he began teaching American government at Hope High School in Providence. While teaching at Hope, Caprio attended night school at the Suffolk University School of Law in Boston. This led to him joining the legal profession.[15] Caprio also served in the Rhode Island Army National Guard from 1954 to 1962 in the 876th Combat Engineer Battalion. During his time in the Army National Guard, Caprio was assigned to Camp Varnum in Narragansett and Fort Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania.[11][13][16][17]
Parts of the proceedings over which he presided, featuring low-level citations, ran for more than two decades on local television.[20][21] Caprio's TV series, Caught in Providence, originated on PEG access television in Rhode Island and was first picked up by ABC station WLNE-TV in 2000, initially airing late on Saturday nights.[22] After a hiatus, Caught in Providence returned in 2015 and aired after the 11 o'clock newscasts on Saturdays until September 2017.[23] Clips from this show went viral in the 2010s.[24] The program has also received coverage from media organizations around the world, such as NBC News.[25] On September 24, 2018, Caught in Providence went into national syndication.[26] The show was renewed for a second season of syndication in January 2019.[27]Caught in Providence is produced by Caprio's brother Joe Caprio, who has stated that the show will cease filming with Caprio's retirement.[28] Fifty episodes are consolidated into a single season and made available on Prime Video. [29]
Community outreach
At Suffolk University School of Law, Caprio founded the Antonio "Tup" Caprio Scholarship Fund.[14] This scholarship, named after Caprio's father, who had only a fifth-grade education, is for Rhode Island students committed to improving access to legal services in Rhode Island urban core neighborhoods. He has also established scholarships at Providence College, Suffolk Law School, and for graduates of Central High School, named in honor of his father.[30]
Caprio has been involved in the Boys Town of Italy, the Nickerson House Juvenile Court and Rhode Island Food Bank. In 1983 he co-chaired the Rhode Island Statue of Liberty Foundation (raising funds for the restoration of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island). Caprio was also a member of the Board of Regents of Elementary and Secondary education and the Governor's Pre-K thru 16 Council on education.[31] He is a member of the President's Council at Providence College.[13]
Following Caprio's retirement the Providence City Council passed legislation to rename his old municipal courtroom the Chief Judge Frank Caprio Courtroom. The dedication ceremony took place on October 20, 2023.[35] Earlier that month he was sworn in as Chief Judge Emeritus of the Providence Municipal Court, although the title was largely ceremonial and Caprio stated that he had no intention of returning to the bench.[36]
After having recently celebrated his 87th birthday, on December 6, 2023, Caprio announced that he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on a video posted on Facebook and YouTube. He advised those who wish to support him to keep him in their prayers, and praised his doctors for taking good care of him.[38][39] He finished his cancer treatment on May 24, 2024.[40]
^"H 9114". State of Rhode Island in General Assembly. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
^"People having tough days". Caught in Providence You Tube Channel. Caught in Providence. March 15, 2017. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
