Frank Caprio (judge)

Judge Frank Caprio (born November 23, 1936) is the television judge on "ABC's Caught in Providence." Judge Frank Caprio is the son of Antonio (Tup) Caprio, an immigrant from Teano, Italy and Filomena Caprio. As a youngster he worked with his father on his milkman route while attending the Providence, Rhode Island public schools. He was an All-State wrestler at Central High School. He later graduated from Providence College with a degree in political science. He was a civics teacher at Hope High School in Providence while simultaneously attending Suffolk University Law School (evening division) in Boston, Massachusetts. He has been a member of the Rhode Island state and federal bars since 1965.

Judge Frank Caprio is currently the Chief Judge of the Providence Municipal Court. He was appointed in 1985, and has been re-appointed six times by the mayor of Providence and the Providence City Council. Judge Caprio also serves as the Chairman of the Board of Governors for Higher Education in Rhode Island, directing the $600 million annual budget and major decisions of the public colleges and universities in the state. Three successive Rhode Island governors have appointed Caprio to this board. He also is a member of the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education in Rhode Island. He has recently gained local fame for his television hit “Caught in Providence” which airs on the "ABC" affiliate in Providence showing the unedited proceedings of the Providence Municipal Court.

In 1960, at the age of 23 Caprio upset a thirty-year incumbent council president in the race for city councilman of Providence’s thirteenth ward where he served until 1970. Frank Caprio was also campaign manager for the successful Lt. Governor races of J. Joseph Garrahy and Thomas DiLiugio, in 1968 and 1976 respectively. In 1980 and 1984, Caprio, an elected Delegate, brought his then teenage sons Frank and David to the Democratic National Conventions in New York City and San Francisco. Caprio was a democratic candidate for Rhode Island attorney general in 1970 and mayor of Providence in 1978.

Judge Caprio is also a senior partner at the Providence law firm Caprio & Caprio which he founded; a partner in the landmark Coast Guard House restaurant in Narragansett, RI and Casey's restaurant in Wakefield, RI. He received an honorary Doctor of Laws from his alma mater Suffolk University Law School in 1991 and was the commencement speaker at the University of Rhode Island in 2003. He has established scholarships in his father's name at Suffolk University Law School and Central High School (Providence, RI) for students with top grades that come from recent immigrant families.

He is married to Joyce Caprio. They have five children, including sons Frank T. Caprio and David Caprio, both Rhode Island elected officials.