"The judge, pronouncing the sentence, called Capano arrogant and ruthless. "Capano, a former state prosecutor and adviser to politicians, was convicted of murdering the governor of Delaware's scheduling secretary." Delaware Lawyer Sentenced to Death By TODD SPANGLER WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) -- Thomas Capano, a wealthy lawyer who moved among Delaware's elite circles, was sentenced to death today for the murder of his mistress. Superior Court Judge William Swain Lee had only two options in sentencing Capano: death by injection, as the jury recommended, or life in prison. He called Capano arrogant and ruthless in announcing the sentence. Capano, 49, a former state prosecutor and political adviser, was convicted in January of murdering Anne Marie Fahey, scheduling secretary to Delaware Gov. Thomas Carper. She disappeared in June 1996. A member of a wealthy and influential Wilmington family, Capano admitted at trial to dumping Ms. Fahey's body in the Atlantic Ocean, but said she was accidentally shot by another mistress who found them together. Capano showed no emotion as the sentence was read and mouthed ``It will be all right'' to his mother and brother Joseph as he was being led from the packed courtroom. ``The defendant fully expected to get away with it and if not for his arrogant and controlling nature, he may have succeeded,'' the judge said. ``He is a ruthless murderer and feels compassion for no one and remorse only for the circumstances he finds himself in today.'' The judge, who had been required by law to give the jury's 10-2 recommendation for execution ``great weight,'' set a June 28 execution date. But it takes an average of 8 1/2 years for a death sentence to be carried out in Delaware. In January, during the sentencing phase of the jury trial, Capano had told jurors ``I'm not going to sit here and beg for my life.'' But he did ask them to consider his four daughters, his mother and the rest of his family, and to spare him for their sake. Jurors took only about three hours before voting to recommend execution. Prosecutors alleged that Capano killed Ms. Fahey because she wanted to end her secret, three-year affair with the married man. Without a body or a murder weapon, it took more than a year to make a case against Capano. Finally, in November 1997, Capano's younger brother, Gerard, came forward, telling investigators he was with Thomas Capano on June 28, 1996, when the two dumped a body from his boat 70 miles off the New Jersey coast. Capano claimed the other mistress, Deborah MacIntyre, accidentally shot Ms. Fahey in the head in a jealous, suicidal rage, and that he got rid of her body -- dumping it from his brother's boat -- to protect himself and her. Ms. MacIntyre denied even being at his house the night Ms. Fahey died. The Capano case is far from over. Ms. Fahey's family has filed a wrongful death suit against Capano. They also have sued his brothers and their businesses -- the family fortune was built on real estate and development -- saying they helped cover up Ms. Fahey's disappearance.
