‘ A stand up man’ with ‘ a heart of gold’
Longtime Democratic Bridgeport leader dies with COVID- 19
BRIDGEPORT — Marilyn Santacroce recalled how her partner of 40 years, the late Dennis Scinto, prided himself on not looking his 80 years.
“People would say, ‘ How old are you?’ He’d say, ‘ How old do I look?’ ” Santacroce said Friday. “He was in his glory when someone would say, ‘ You look like you’re 62.’ He said, ‘ Yeah, right around there.’ ”
Scinto’s death on Tuesday after being ill for about a week shocked many in the community who thought the longtime Democratic activist, North End political leader, municipal sheriff, used car salesman and recently retired city employee was in excellent health.
His obituary did not list a cause of death. But Santacroce and some of Scinto’s closest friends on Friday said that a coronavirus test on his body confirmed he was infected with the deadly illness which has so far killed more than 252,000 nationwide and 167 in Bridgeport, according to the state.
“I think the virus just ravaged him, unfortunate
ly,” said former state Rep. Christopher Caruso. “Him catching this is very sad. Here’s a guy who went out of his way to put the mask on, wash his hands, ( use) sanitizers, things like that. There are people out there who just recklessly don’t. ... It’s just a very sad day.”
Santacroce agreed that Scinto was very concerned and very cautious about contracting COVID- 19.
“I don’t know what happened with this,” she said. “Monday he didn’t feel well — on the 9th, I guess it was. And every day he just got weaker and weaker. Tuesday, Wednesday, all week long he just laid down. I would talk to him and want to bring him something ( to his home). He said, ‘ I don’t want to eat or do anything. I’m tired.’”
Santacroce and others thought he had seen a doctor. Santacroce said Scinto died at home.
Santacroce said there has been an outpouring of grief over the death: “He was known as the most stubborn, stubborn man around but had a heart of gold. If someone in the city said, ‘ Hey Dennis, I need a favor,’ he was the first one there. He would have been so pleased he has received so many beautiful, crying words.”
“He was just a regular, stand up man who just believed in doing the right thing,” she said.
“Just a great guy.”
She said Scinto had retired in March, around the time the worldwide pandemic reached Connecticut, from his position as a zoning inspector.
“He was looking forward to enjoying his kids, his grandchildren. We were all going to take a
nice vacation,” Santacroce said.
Long- time North End City Councilwoman Michelle Lyons was in tears Friday during a brief interview as she recalled Scinto.
“He was a really good friend. I’ve been crying for days,” Lyons said. “I’m having a really hard time. He meant a lot to me. ... He helped me become a great councilperson.”
In a tribute on Facebook, Lyons called Scinto “our dear friend, our mentor, like a father to us and a part of our family.”
With no chance of any public funeral arrangements given the coronavirus diagnosis, Lyons said she hoped at some point next year that the city could have a memorial.
Caruso recalled how Scinto was not “an upfront politician” but a key person “behind- thescenes” who “helped a hell of a lot of candidates over the years get elected.”
And though the pair might sometimes be politically at odds, Caruso remembered Scinto as “a gentleman. He was a decent guy. A kind guy. ... He had a temperament that he was easy to deal with all different personalities and opinions. And views. It’s a great loss for the city and, frankly, for the Democratic Party.”
Johanna Dorgan, another North End Democrat, said she last saw Scinto at a small housewarming party Nov. 7. He had not been feeling well then and she said when they spoke by phone last week “he sounded awful.”
“I still can’t wrap myself around it. He was so damn cautious and so afraid of this virus,” Dorgan said. “Dennis was a noble gentleman from the word ‘ go.’ He never talked bad about anybody. And I tell you, I never really heard people talk badly about him.”