William Esposito: What Really
Mattered
Vacations
were big in William Esposito's life. When he was a boy,
his family had a summer home in Budd Lake, N.J. And the
summer he was 10 he met a girl named Stevie, whose
grandparents also had a home there.
For a while, Billy avoided Stevie, sensing that she
liked him. Finally, she told him, "I don't like you," and
their friendship blossomed. By age 15 they were dating,
by 23 they were married.
Mr. Esposito, 51, of Bellmore, N.Y., became a partner
at Cantor Fitzgerald, where he was known as Scoop.
"He was pretty ruthless in the business world," his
wife of 29 years said.
But when he was on vacation with his family, he could
leave that behind. For many years Mr. Esposito, his wife,
son and daughter would go to Florida over Passover and
Easter. "It would be just the four of us -- no phones, no
friends, no nothing -- so we'd play cards," Stevie
Esposito said. "And by the end of the vacation, the kids
would owe him or he'd owe them like a million dollars. Of
course, they never played for real money.
As long as we were all together that was really all
that mattered."
.
