Ross Sandler
Nicholas Scoppetta, who passed away in March at age 83, represented the best in the City’s civic life. He often attended New York Law School events and was the featured speaker at a CityLaw Breakfast on September 12, 1997. At that time he headed the Administration for Children’s Services, and was deep in litigation with advocates for children who wanted the federal court to take over his agency. Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani had appointed Scoppetta in January 1996 following the November 1995 death of six-year-old Elisa Izquierdo. Elisa had been beaten to death by her mother, but the City was faulted because the City’s Child Welfare Administration possessed evidence that Elisa was endangered, and had failed to place the little girl into protective custody. In the public furor Mayor Giuliani assumed personal responsibility for children’s services, ordered the agency to report directly to him and appointed Nicholas Scoppetta to head the new agency.
