Richard Piperno of Massapequa dies at 88

As a reporter and editor at the New York Journal-American who became press spokesman for New York City politicians and district attorneys, Richard Piperno met many of the movers and shakers of a bygone era and loved to tell their stories.

"[The Journal-American] was the biggest-selling afternoon paper of its time; he met so many interesting dignitaries and celebrities, and he . . . kept us all mesmerized with all his recollections," said his daughter Karen Kelly, 56, of Malverne.

Piperno, 88, died of a massive heart attack Jan. 14 at his Massapequa home.

He worked at the Journal-American - once the flagship newspaper for legendary Publisher William Randolph Hearst - from the 1940s until it folded in 1966.

He eventually found a new career as a spokesman for government officials, including Gov. Malcolm Wilson, New York City comptroller Harrison Jay Goldin, and then Queens district attorneys John Santucci and Richard Brown, she said.

He retired at age 72, said Annette, 85, his wife of nearly 58 years. A fan of the New York Giants and the Mets, and an avid reader, he also enjoyed time with his grandchildren. But, she said, "he loved work . . . He wasn't happy with retirement."

In recent months, she said, he'd been interviewed for an article about the Journal American that is to appear in the Smithsonian Magazine in March.

Piperno was born March 1, 1922, in New York City and grew up in Greenwich Village. He worked in his father Harry's furniture store after graduating from high school at age 15.

He didn't attend college, although he was featured in a 1943 Journal-American captioned photograph when he graduated top of his class in a 16-week U.S. Navy training program for signalmen. He served with the Navy in the South Pacific during World War II, his wife said.

"He always wanted to be a sports writer, but there were no openings" when he applied to work at the paper after the war, she said. "But there was an opening in reporting."

He later covered the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted of spying for the Soviet Union and executed, among "many, many stories," she said.

"He was considerate and warm and interesting," she said. "He had a great sense of humor, and he was very bright."

He is also survived by son Gregg, 53, of Seaford, two children from a prior marriage, Janet, 65, and Richard Petrino, 64, and grandchildren Jennifer Piperno, 26, Christopher Piperno, 19 and Brandon Kelly, 1 1/2.

His service was held Jan. 16 at Gutterman's Memorial Chapel in Woodbury, with burial at the Rural Cemetery in Northport.