If you're Caught in Providence, then 80-year-old Municipal Court Judge Frank Caprio is the man you'll have to see if you're trying to get a case dismissed. However, you don't get to be his age without hearing every excuse in the book, and the chances of walking away without paying a fine are pretty slim.
But, that all changed one day when a depressed mom tried to explain how a series of tragic events led her to Judge Caprio's courtroom. Andrea Rogers was still feeling distraught after her brother took the life of her son, and tearfully told the judge, "It's like I can't win." If you've ever felt like the universe was working against you, well, wait until you hear her heartbreaking story.
At first the judge found it hard to believe the incredulous tale that she spun, but as they dived deeper into the circumstances behind each fine, he came to realize "tough" doesn't even begin to describe this traumatized woman's life. It was only then that Judge Caprio had finally heard it all.
In an astounding twist of fate, three out of four of Andrea's most recent parking tickets were all related to each other. The universe was definitely not being kind to this brokenhearted mom.
The first sign of bad things to come happened when Andrea was at the social security office trying to fix an error with her monthly disability check. A prior overpayment had been made to her son's account, but since he had already passed away, the money that he owed had been taken out of Andrea's check.
Judge Caprio listened intently as Andrea described how the unexpected loss of funding was causing her financial hardship. The situation was only made worse when she came out of the office to find a parking ticket on her car!
Andrea's second ticket was easily dismissed, but her third one was issued during a court appearance over an eviction notice. She was trying to pay off her son's funeral expenses and couldn't catch up on the her monthly rent.
Legally the judge in that case had no choice in the matter. After she was ordered to vacate the apartment and practically made homeless, Andrea didn't think her life could get any worse.
However when she walked outside and got back to her car, she felt as if the universe was rubbing salt into her already wounded soul. Sitting on the windshield was yet another parking fine.
When Andrea went to legal services to get help after her eviction, she went into a donut shop to get change for the meter. But, by the time she came out, you can probably already guess what she discovered.
Judge Caprio isn't totally without a heart, but it's his duty to uphold the law. He did have some leeway with the final outcome, but the ruling was still unfavorable for the poor woman.
She couldn't believe that after explaining all that she had been through, Judge Caprio was going to let her walk out of the courtroom with hardly a penny to her name. But, before Andrea walked out the door and back to her car, the judge threw his hands up into the air and told her one last thing...
Watch this video to find out what the final judgement is in the "toughest year ever."