In 1969 Caputo was one of the four co-founders and a board member and principal stockholder of ICF, a management consulting company. Initially focusing on energy and health care issues, the company later expanded into environmental businesses and began to build engineering capabilities. In 1988 ICF acquired Kaiser Engineers, which had originated as the engineering unit of Henry J. Kaiser's industrial empire and grew to rank among the largest engineering and construction companies in the world. The following year (1989) the combined company went public and eventually traded stock on the New York Stock Exchange. The company operated as "ICF Kaiser," with the consulting unit remaining largely intact.[3]
In 1999, ICF Consulting ended its decade-long affiliation with Kaiser Engineers through a leveraged buyout, financed in part by the CM Equity Partners, LP, an equity investment firm based in New York City. In 2006, ICF Consulting was renamed ICF International. The firm completed an Initial Public Offering (IPO) and became a publicly traded firm listed on the NASDAQ exchange as ICFI.[4]
In 1976, Republican Congressman Peter A. Peyser gave up his seat to challenge incumbent U.S. Senator James L. Buckley for the Republican Senate nomination. Caputo ran for the congressional seat and won, defeating Democratic Assemblyman J. Edward Meyer, a former Republican who became a Democrat in 1973. Caputo's district included Yonkers, three towns in lower Westchester and the Woodlawn, Wakefield, Williamsbridge, Edenwald, Eastchester and Baychester sections of the Bronx. Caputo served on the House Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs committee and the Ethics committee.
In 1978, Perry Duryea, the Republican leader of the State Assembly and front runner for the Republican nomination for governor, picked Caputo as his running mate for lieutenant governor.[5] The Republican state convention nominated them in the fall of 1978.[5] Incumbent Governor Hugh L. Carey, a Democrat, and his running mate Mario Cuomo, defeated the Duryea-Caputo ticket in the November general election.[5]
Following the 1978 elections Caputo served out his term in Congress and joined the management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton in its mergers and acquisitions and banking departments.
In 1980, Caputo entered the Republican primary against U.S. Senator Jacob Javits, but withdrew after his main rival on the right, Alfonse D'Amato, secured the nomination of the Conservative party.[6] D'Amato defeated Javits in the Republican primary and won the general election in the fall. In his autobiography, "Power, Politics, and Pasta: The World According to Senator Al D'Amato" (1995), D'Amato bitterly criticized Caputo. In 1981, President Reagan nominated Caputo as an alternate United States delegate to the United Nations General Assembly. The Senate confirmed the nomination and Caputo began serving in the spring of that year.
Early in 1982, Caputo announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate against incumbent Democrat Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who was seeking a second term.[7] Though he was considered a rising star in the Republican Party, and he raised money from around the country, Caputo ended his campaign after allegations emerged that he had lied about claiming to have been a lieutenant in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and falsely claimed to have been a draftee.[8] Fallout led to him failing to get the support of key Republican and Conservative Party county leaders, and he withdrew from the race.[7]
After leaving politics, Caputo worked as a lawyer and private investor in real estate and early stage privately held companies.
