A
lthough Frank Caprio has long been involved in Rhode Island ’ s symbiotic worlds of politics and law , it was his empathy as chief judge of Providence Municipal Court that catapulted him into worldwide fame .
His “ Caught in Providence ” episodes , where he doles out soft-handed justice on matters ranging from parking tickets to red-light violations , have 2.9 million subscribers on YouTube , and more than twenty million follow Caprio across social media . But after retiring from the bench in 2023 , the eighty-eight-year-old viral sensation has hardly slowed down : He recently finished treatment for pancreatic cancer and released a memoir about his life called Compassion in the Court : Life-Changing Stories from America ’ s Nicest Judge .
The book chronicles his humble upbringing in Providence ’ s Federal Hill , where his parents — Italian immigrants Antonio “ Tup ” Caprio and Filomena Caprio — instilled a sense of responsibility and commitment to service and education in their three sons . It also shares the stories of the many Rhode Island residents who passed through Caprio ’ s chambers since he first took the bench in 1985 .
In this excerpt from Compassion in the Court , out this month , Caprio shares tales about his beloved father , “ Tup ,” and how his confidence in his sons and empathetic nature would forever shape his life .
CHAPTER 6
A Hand on Your Shoulder
There is one memory I have that helped define the trajectory of my life . From that moment on , I knew exactly what I was going to do , and that nothing was going to stop me . As with most significant events in my early life , my father was at the center of it .
It was a Monday , and it was freezing cold . We were at home about to have dinner , but to stay warm we kept the stove door open and had three chairs around it . We often did that . It ’ s what poor people did . And being poor , with a house that didn ’ t have sufficient heat , in a strange way made us closer as a family . We had to sit together around the stove to stay warm . Sometimes the radio would be on in the background . But most of the time , we would talk .
This Monday , my father stood next to me . He put his hand on my shoulder and said to me , “ Someday you ’ re going to be a lawyer . You ’ re a good talker . You ’ re going to be a lawyer someday . But ,” he added , “ there ’ s one thing : you can ’ t charge poor people like us . There will be enough rich people to pay you .”
The words were direct , simple , and powerful . But when he placed his hand on my shoulder , I had a feeling that is hard to describe . Without his hand there , his words would not have had the same impact . It just felt like there was someone watching out for me , that I could feel confident that what he told me would come to pass .
Every day since , I still feel his hand on my shoulder . To this day , that moment meant so much to me . Its impact on
Frank Caprio and his older brother Antonio helped their father , a milkman , make early morning deliveries on Federal Hill in Providence .
76 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY I FEBRUARY 2025