F. Emmett Fitzpatrick, 84, defense lawyer and former D.A.

F. EMMETT Fitzpatrick, one of the most prominent defense lawyers in a city famous for them, felt that the law was more than a profession - it was a mission.

"Being a defense attorney was really his mission in life," said his son, F. Emmett Fitzpatrick III, also a lawyer. "The law was to him a vocation, a calling. When anybody came to him with a need, a problem, he saw it as his mission to help that person."

His father, who died Tuesday at age 84, worked both sides of the courtroom. He was a prosecutor early in his career, a role that culminated with his election as district attorney in 1974.

But his family and former law partner, NiaLena Caravasos, believe his true vocation was at the defense table - for at least one crucial reason: He loved to help people.

"He wanted to be a voice for people who didn't have a voice," said his son, who worked with his father for some 20 years.

His father grabbed many a headline in his long career, most prominent among them those concerning his defense of organized crime figures entangled in the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. But many of his most satisfying cases never made the headlines.

"He was generous with his time, his money," his son said. "A person with a problem might know him for years or for just five minutes. He would say, 'Stop back at my office and I'll see what I can do for you.'

"One guy told me my father helped him out in a very difficult time of his life and he would never forget him for that. I heard that statement hundreds of times over the years. That was how he viewed the law."

F. Emmett Fitzpatrick was forced by illness to retire several years ago. He died of complications of Alzheimer's disease at the Cresthaven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Cape May Courthouse, N.J.

He grew up in Philadelphia and graduated in 1952 from St. Joseph's University with a degree in political science. He received his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1955.

He served as an assistant district attorney from 1956 through 1962, and as first assistant D.A. from 1962 to 1966.

Fitzpatrick ran successfully against Republican District Attorney Arlen Specter in 1973, and took office the following January. He lost the primary election four years later to Ed Rendell.

Caravasos, who refers to Fitzpatrick as "the Captain," joined his law firm, then consisting of him and his son, in 1997.

"When I first joined him," she wrote in reminiscence, "he sat me down and he said, 'I want you to know we do everything completely by the book here. Reputation's the most important thing you will ever have. Money is secondary.' "

Caravasos said she was only a child when Fitzpatrick was district attorney, but she knew from talking with people who worked with him he was well respected.

"He was the first district attorney to let his lawyers be lawyers," she said. "He would show them what he wanted and then let them go. People appreciated being treated that way."

One of Fitzpatrick's first federal RICO cases was that of the late Teamsters boss Frank Sheeran, for whom Fitzpatrick won acquittal of racketeering and related charges in 1980.

He was instrumental in winning the freedom of the late Raymond "Long John" Martorano, a made member of the mob, on the grounds of prosecutorial misconduct and double jeopardy. Martorano was shot to death in a mob hit in 2002.

He also won acquittals for mobsters Gaeton Lucibello and Luigi "Gino" Tripodi in the 1990s, and was a lead attorney in the cases and appeals involving mob boss Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino.

Fitzpatrick also was a teacher. He taught advanced trial techniques at Widener University School of Law and held numerous seminars on legal issues. He appeared frequently as a legal commentator on radio and television programs, including 6ABC's "Inside Story."

While Fitzpatrick will be recorded in Philadelphia legal history for his high-profile court cases, his family has a different take on the man they knew outside the courthouse.

He was a man who took a break every weekend from using his brains by working with his hands, shaping wood, mastering tools, electrical and plumbing work on houses he remodeled in Roxborough and Ocean City, N.J.

"He was a master woodworker," his son said. "He educated himself in everything, from carpentry, to plumbing and electricity, painting and finishing."

He bought a 150-year-old house in Roxborough and made it completely modern. "It looks like the White House," his son said. He did the same for his house in Ocean City.

There, he created a garage workshop complete with every kind of tool for construction work.

"He was a tremendous father," his son said. "He wanted the absolute best for his children."

Fitzpatrick was distressed when his estranged wife, Debbi Fitzpatrick, was sentenced in 2006 to four years in a New Jersey prison after pleading guilty to swindling investors in a nonexistent musical. Fitzpatrick said he knew nothing about her activities.

Besides his son, Fitzpatrick is survived by another son, James Michael Fitzpatrick; a daughter, Paula J. Fitzpatrick; a brother, James Michael Fitzpatrick; and one granddaughter. He was predeceased by another son, Peter.

Services: Funeral Mass 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Matthias Church, 128 Bryn Mawr Ave., Bala Cynwyd. Friends may call at 9 a.m. Burial will be at Westminster Cemetery.