On Friday, June 25, 1976, off-duty New York City Transit Det. George Caccavale was shot in the chest, thigh, and legs during a robbery of the Van Dam Check Cashing Corporation in Long Island City. Det. Caccavale was working this second job to support his wife and two young children. He drove to a bank to pick up money to bring back to the check cashing facility, and, as he got out of his car with a bag of cash, the three perpetrators — Richard Payton, Percy Moore, and Claude Holland — were lying in wait. They knew Caccavale was an Officer, and despite his immediately taking police action by identifying himself and drawing one of his two firearms, the perpetrators opened fire. Witnesses inside the facility said they heard four shots. The perps also stole the gun Caccavale had drawn as they fled. On Saturday, June 26, 1976, Det. Caccavale died at Greenpoint Hospital of internal bleeding from his wounds. He was 33 years old and had been with the Transit PD for 11 years. Det. Caccavale had been one of the original four members of the NYC Transit Police Pickpocket Squad. When he was shot, more than 120 people stepped up to donate blood as he lay in the hospital: back in the day when there was only word-of-mouth to spread the hunt for donors. He was given an Inspector’s funeral by his Department and the City. The perps, who first met in Stateville Penitentiary in Illinois while serving time for previous crimes, fled to other cities with clothing, cash, and transportation provided by Claude Holland, but they were eventually caught by the NYPD and Transit Detective Task Force. According to Payton, Holland also participated in a home invasion and robbery in Short Hills, NJ, as well as the robbery of a liquor store in Brooklyn, and the robbery and murder of a couple in Chicago. For killing Det. Caccavale, the perps received 25 years to life. Richard Payton died in prison in 2007. Percy Moore died in prison in 2009. Claude Holland is still incarcerated. Det. Caccavale’s widow Nancy, who always referred to her husband as “Papa George,” never received the support or recognition that Officers do today when combat death occurs. She had to support her then-nine-year-old son Carmine and three-week-old daughter Carla on her own. Also left grieving were other family members, colleagues, and many friends, including neighbors, former City and State politician Mario Biaggi and his family. At the time of Caccavale’s death, Biaggi was a U. S. Representative from The Bronx. Det. Caccavale was slated to be an usher at Mario Biaggi’s daughter Jacqueline’s wedding the Saturday after he was killed. They left a symbolic empty seat for Det. Caccavale at the wedding. On Friday, July 2, 1976, Mario Biaggi read into the Congressional Record “A Special Tribute to George Caccavale” called “A Man of Peace Felled By A World of Violence,” which can still be downloaded today from the government’s own website. Caccavale was a devoted husband and a loving father. Caccavale’s widow, Nancy, passed away in March of 2010. She is buried with her husband. When the NYC Transit Police and NYPD merged in 1995, the DEA recognized Det. Caccavale’s death as being in the line of duty and his name was added to the DEA Honor Roll. However, the NYPD took a longer time to recognize Det. Caccavale’s sacrifice; but finally, through the efforts of the DEA, the Department included Det. Caccavale as a line-of-duty death in 2017. On October 29, 2019, the NYPD Transit Bureau named one of their newly graduated German Shepherds “Vale” after Det. Caccavale. Read more about Det. Caccavale on the DEA website Honor Roll.