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In Remembrance
Age:
21
Place of Residence:
Garden City, NY
Location on 9/11:
One WTC
Occupation:
Cantor Fitzgerald | Trade Support Clerk
Biography:

Jonathan Neff Cappello, 23, of Garden City, worked at Cantor Fitzgerald on the 104th floor of the north tower. He was in training to become a trader. Remains were recovered in June, 2002.

Jonathan Cappello embraced life with heart - and a devilish smile, his oldest brother, Robert Cappello Jr., recalled.

"Wherever he was, he controlled the scene. He made everyone feel good," his brother said. "As my Dad said, 'He didn't sip at life, he gulped it down.' "

He loved working at Cantor, following in the footsteps of his two older brothers who worked on Wall Street.

His nickname, Jono, captured his youthful exuberance: "When he was growing up my parents were always saying, 'Jonathan, no.' That got shortened to 'Jon, no' and that became 'Jono.' "

When he was a student at Fairfield University in Connecticut, he told his mother he had rescued a puppy from the animal shelter.

It turned out to be a 120-pound Rottweiler mix. "The dog basically protected my mom and growled at everybody else," his brother said. The dog, named Casey, also kept escaping from the house Cappello rented during his time at college. This culminated in a number of outstanding warrants against him from the local constabulary.

"We have a graduation picture of him outside the Fairfield Police Department," his brother said. "That's the type of character he was."

His mother, Claudia, said he was a child who "never asked for anything, who would give his clothes away." She said his uncle, Thomas McClelland - a dentist whom Cappello called "the driller" - put it best: "He used to say 'He seems to get the big picture at a young age' - and that was so true," she said.