The Caputo brothers, Charles and Louis, will follow in the footsteps of their father and grandfather, working as liquor law attorneys. It was a legacy that began with their grandfather, Charles Caputo, an attorney and one-time state legislator, and their father, Louis E. Caputo, who for years had as clients some of the city's best-known tavern, restaurant and club owners. "It is a legacy that will continue," the brothers said. Attorney Louis E. Caputo, of Bethel Park, died from complications of heart problems on Friday, July 2, 2004, at his residence. He was 54. His son, Charles Caputo, a real estate attorney with Kirkpatrick Lockhart in the Oliver Building, Downtown, also practices liquor law. Another son, Louis, who recently received a law degree from Duquesne University, will -- following his bar exam in the fall -- take over his father's Downtown law firm, and continue to specialize in liquor law. "My father loved to practice law," said Charles Caputo. "It was his life. It was his way of helping others." The name Caputo, said Louis Caputo, was synonymous with the liquor laws. "We knew from the time we were kids that someday we'd both be practicing law. "We both helped in our father's office while we were going to school, and we could feel the excitement that permeated the office." "Dad considered his clients as family members, and tried to do what he could for them in their businesses," added Louis Caputo. "He often said when defending a client, who others said was running a nuisance bar, that everyone is entitled to make a living. "And what somebody considers a nuisance is someone else's livelihood." Mr. Caputo's daughter, Christin, opted to become a teacher, and she credits her father with encouraging her to enroll at Duquesne University and receive a degree in education. "Dad said that I should find a profession that would make me happy, but a profession that would also touch others in a positive way," she said. Born and raised in Beechview, Louis E. Caputo was one of two sons born to Charles and Ann Churba Caputo. In 1968, following graduation from the then-South Hills Catholic High School, Mr. Caputo received an undergraduate degree from Duquesne University and a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh. While attending law school, Mr. Caputo worked as a marketing representative for Cabot Travel and in 1974 he married Janet Molinero, also of Beechview. "Once Dad received his law degree in 1976, he joined my grandfather's law firm, which they named Caputo & Caputo," said Louis Caputo. "When my grandfather died, Dad was a member of the law firm of Wittlin Goldston & Caputo until he went on his own. "I truly understood what the name Caputo meant when I joined Kirkpatrick Lockhart and one of the older members of the firm looked into my office and said, 'It's fine to have a Caputo in the firm.'" Mr. Caputo is survived by his wife, Janet A. Molinero Caputo; sons, Charles and Louis Caputo of Brookline; daughter, Christin Caputo of Bethel Park; and his brother, Charles Caputo of New York. Visitation is from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. today and Monday at Beinhauers, 2630 W. Liberty Ave., Dormont. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Germaine Church, Bethel Park. Interment is in Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Peters. Memorial donations to the Louis E. Caputo Scholarship Fund may be sent to Duquesne University, c/o the Rev. Sean Hogan.

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