Jim Lupinetti: Mentor at heart

Twenty-four years of detective and major crimes work shows through when you meet Jim Lupinetti. He still carries himself as a seasoned officer with straight posture and stoic demeanor. Even now, he is reluctant talking about some of his major criminal busts.

Lupinetti graduated from South Philadelphia High School and took some criminal justice courses at Temple, but he never considered a crime-fighting career. Both his brother and best friend worked with the Philadelphia Police Department, and they finally convinced him to join.

"An opportunity came up, and I went with it," he said.

One of his longest investigations involved some Philadelphia police officers who were indicted and found guilty of running a narcotics ring. With a rare show of expression, he gives a slight smile when talking about a bribery case that involved some officers. Those officers came to investigators and told them about drug dealers who were trying to bribe them.

"One of the most fun was that investigation," Lupinetti said. With information gathered, he said, detectives found all the drug houses connected to the dealers, raided them and made arrests at every one of the locations.

By the late 1980s, he said, his wife, Elaine, had enough of the city, and the two decided to move permanently to the vacation home they had owned since 1978.

But his retirement in 1989 didn't last long.

An application he placed with Delaware Department of Correction was processed quickly, and he was offered a job almost immediately after retiring from the police force.

"It all happened within days," he said.

He started out as an investigator for Internal Affairs and became director of the department, in a career that, he said, paralleled his earlier police career.

"It was interesting," he said, again careful about revealing any details.

In 2005, after 15 years with DOC, he retired for good this time, at age 62.

With no kids or pets keeping them grounded, the couple began traveling, starting with a two-month trip across the United States. They've been to Europe a few times and once to Australia and New Zealand. With family in Italy and Australia, he said, those trips were a nice family reunion.

"It helped getting around," he said.

He now has plenty of time to read detective stories such as the Jack Reacher series and watch crime dramas, "Criminal Minds" and "Blue Bloods."

Retirement also gave Lupinetti a chance to try something new: mentoring.

"I learned a little bit about it and knew it was something I wanted to do," he said.

Once a week for more than a decade now, he spends time with an elementary-age student at Long Neck Elementary.

Mentors commit for three years to form a bond with a student.

"It's a great program. Very important for kids," he said. "The best mentors work together with a student, and they click. They accomplish things together."

Lupinetti said he's not sure how much longer he will volunteer as a mentor, but he knows there is a long list of students who need help.
He encourages people of all ages to consider, and plans to mentor as long as he can fulfill his commitment.

Lupinetti is a long way from the South Philly streets in his Pot-Nets home. At 74, he welcomes the slower pace where shopping, dinner parties and daily walks are part of his regimen.

But he remembers his detective years fondly.

"I was lucky because I got to do so many things," he said.