On the last day of 2011, a 51-year-old male Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent named John Capano tragically lost his life in his hometown of Seaford, New York. He was at Charlie's Family Pharmacy on Merrick Road, picking up a prescription for his father, when a robbery unfolded. The suspect, a career criminal named James McGoey, was in the process of stealing cash and painkillers.
An off-duty Capano took immediate action, following McGoey out of the pharmacy to
apprehend him. As the two men struggled outside, a bystander ran to a nearby delicatessen to get help. The deli owner, a retired Nassau County police lieutenant named Christopher Geraghty, and an off-duty NYPD officer who was a customer in the deli, Joseph Arbia, rushed to the scene. They arrived to find Capano and McGoey wrestling over Capano's firearm.
In the chaotic moments that followed, a fatal error occurred. Mistaking Capano for the suspect, Geraghty fired his weapon, striking the federal agent. During the struggle, Capano's weapon had discharged in the direction of the deli owner. After Capano was shot, McGoey made another attempt to grab the agent's gun and was then shot and killed by the off-duty NYPD officer, Arbia. Both Capano and McGoey were pronounced dead at the scene.
The aftermath of the shooting revealed the tragic case of friendly fire. An investigation by the Nassau County District Attorney's office ultimately determined that no criminal charges would be filed against Geraghty or Arbia. The district attorney's report concluded that in the rapid and confusing sequence of events, Geraghty had acted under the mistaken belief that he was firing at the robber to save a life. The ATF, while mourning the loss of their agent, stated that the ultimate responsibility for the tragedy lay with the career criminal who initiated the violent confrontation. John Capano, a 23-year veteran of the ATF, was survived by his wife and two children.
