NEVER TOO OLD FOR TOYS Think tax investigator, and if you do not envision a man who relishes birthdays and spaghetti with the zeal of a child, perhaps you did not know Salvatore T. Papasso. Mr. Papasso worked as a special investigator for the revenue crimes bureau of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, on the 86th floor of 2 World Trade Center. He liked bringing white-collar criminals to justice, but he also drew pleasure from simpler things. Take the Lego pirate-ship set he received as a gift after complaining, in his late 20’s, that people no longer gave him toys. “He actually put it together,” marveled Vincent Papasso, one of his brothers (and the bearer of the gift). Mr. Papasso, 34, and his wife, Christine, celebrated one another’s birthdays for an entire month, with multiple cakes and dinners out. They married on May 12, 2000, then marked their union on the 12th of each month, sometimes nudging one another awake after midnight to be the first to wish a happy anniversary. “He celebrated life,” Mrs. Papasso said. “My outlook on everything changed with him.” Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on December 29, 2001.
