Slain ATF Agent to Posthumously Receive Patriot Award

The Seaford 9/11 Memorial Committee announced this week that slain ATF agent John Capano will posthumously be named an Honorary Patriot at the organization’s upcoming awards dinner.

Capano, a 1978 Seaford High School graduate, was accidentally shot and killed when he attempted to prevent an armed robbery at Charlie’s Family Pharmacy this past New Year’s Eve. The Massapequa resident and Seaford native served 23 years as an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. He was a member of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association and the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators (IABTI) who had had taught U.S. military and local forces in Afghanistan and Iraq how to investigate blasts.

Joining Capano in receiving Seaford 9/11 Memorial Committee Patriot Awards this year are Susan Ward and Charles J. Wroblewski. Ward is a longtime teacher at Seaford Harbor School. Wroblewski, a 1959 Seaford High School graduate, is president of both the Seaford Historical Society and Seaford Lions Club.

The 9/11 Memorial Committee presents Patriot Awards to individuals who represent the spirit and lives of the five Seaford High School graduates who perished in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks including Thomas Haskell '82, Timothy Haskell '85, John Perry '82, Robert Sliwak '77, and Michael Wittenstein '85. The five graduates are remembered with a 9/11 memorial teaching plaza located in front of the school they once attended. The plaza was dedicated on Nov. 23, 2002 and on Sept. 11, 2011, the 10th annual 9/11 memorial tribute was held at the site. 

The 10th annual Seaford 9/11 Memorial Committee Patriot Awards are scheduled for June 25 at the Woodbury Country Club starting at 7 p.m. For further information on the upcoming dinner, log onto www.seaford911.org