Convicted thief faces new charges - Sun Times Articles

Convicted thief faces new charges
COOK COUNTY Ex-Notre Dame instructor accused of writing bad checks

From: Chicago Sun-Times

Date: January 9, 2008

Author: Frank Main, Crime Reporter Chicago Sun-Times

Cook County prosecutors tried to have former University of Notre Dame instructor Lisa Caponigri thrown into prison after she was convicted of bilking her elderly cousin.

Instead, Caponigri got four years' probation and was ordered to repay more than $200,000 to her Southwest Side cousin, then 91.

Now prosecutors may have a second chance to put her behind bars.

Caponigri, 50, who moved to Burbank, Calif., was arrested in December on a felony charge of writing bad checks to employees working in her home. If she's convicted, authorities here may move to revoke her probation and send her to prison to complete her four-year term.

"We're looking at it," Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Dianne Ghaster said.

Caponigri was arrested Dec. 27 at her Burbank home and freed on a $20,000 bond.

In November, two men who worked for her grew wary of Caponigri's business practices and demanded she pay them, but her checks bounced, a Burbank police report said.

She's accused of writing a bad check for $2,656 to a man who worked for her Web-based business, lisasitaly.com, which sells gourmet Italian food. She wrote two other bad checks to another man -- a Hurricane Katrina survivor -- who was caring for Caponigri's disabled son, the police report said.

Caponigri could not be reached for comment.

She taught Spanish at Notre Dame from 1999 until 2005. Later that year, she was arrested for stealing more than $200,000 from her cousin, Lucille Zicker, who has since died. Caponigri was accused of looting Zicker's bank accounts and forging documents to take title to her home.

The Chicago Sun-Times profiled Caponigri in 2004, describing some of her other questionable business practices.

For instance, a judge ruled in her 1993 bankruptcy that she and her ex-husband, a member of Notre Dame's 1977 national championship football squad, bilked investors in a housing development out of hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund an "extravagant lifestyle."

The couple used project money to travel to South America, pay for repairs on luxury cars and cover mortgage payments on a New York home, according to the alleged victims -- who included two doctors for the football team.

Ex-teacher accused of stealing $200,000
From: Chicago Sun-Times

Date:December 1, 2005

Author: Frank Main

A former University of Notre Dame instructor was arrested Wednesday for allegedly stealing more than $200,000 from her 91- year-old cousin -- as well as jewelry, clothing, family photographs and even a jar of Kennedy half dollars.

Attorney Lisa Caponigri taught Spanish at Notre Dame from 1999 until August of this year, when her contract was not renewed, a university spokesman said. He would not say why.

ORDERED TO PAY $374,000

Caponigri, who is charged with felony theft, is accused of looting Lucille Zicker's bank accounts. She also forged documents to take title to Zicker's Southwest Side home, Chicago Police said.

Caponigri, 48, was being held in lieu of $2 million bail, police said.

Zicker retired at age 83 after working as a secretary for ophthalmologist Michael Carroll. In 2002, a fall left her in a wheelchair, and she gave Caponigri power of attorney to handle her affairs. Caponigri took title to Zicker's home in August 2002 and the next month suggested Zicker enter a rehabilitation facility in South Bend, Ind., the town where Caponigri lives.
Carroll's daughter Gwen Carroll, who is an attorney, filed a lawsuit on behalf of Zicker in 2004 seeking to recover the money Caponigri allegedly drained from Zicker's estate.

On Sept. 27, U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur ordered Caponigri to pay Zicker $374,000, including $223,000 in compensatory damages and another $125,000 in punitive damages. Caponigri told the court she does not have a job or income, or any "meaningful assets."
"For this reason, my daughter is unable to enroll in college this fall as planned," she wrote.
Shadur described Caponigri's actions as "egregious" and "grievous breaches of fiduciary obligations accomplished by taking advantage of her family relationship and of a particularly vulnerable victim." He pointed out that bankruptcy will not protect Caponigri from paying the damages he ordered.

Another judge ruled in Caponigri's 1993 bankruptcy that she and her ex-husband, a member of Notre Dame's 1977 national championship football squad, had bilked investors in a housing project out of hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund an "extravagant lifestyle." The couple allegedly used the project money to travel to South America, repair two Mercedes-Benz cars and cover mortgage payments on a New York home.

REBUTS CLAIM IN SUIT

In court papers filed with Shadur, Caponigri rebutted a claim in Zicker's lawsuit that Caponigri had tried to smother Zicker with a pillow on the way to the rehabilitation center in Indiana.
Caponigri was charged after an investigation by Chicago Police financial crimes unit Detectives Peggy Tedder and Edward Record along with Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Dianne Ghaster. Zicker declined to comment Wednesday.