Caputo along with
C. Richard Fiore were elected as Republicans to the State Assembly in 1967, defeating Eugene Molinaro and Warren Davis in the Republican primary and Democratic incumbents
Armand Lembo and
Joseph Biancardi. At the time of his election at age 27, he was the youngest person ever elected to the
State Legislature. During his first two terms in the Assembly, Caputo advocated for the construction of a
casino in Newark. Caputo lost the backing of the Essex County Republican organization when he ran for a third term in 1971, and lost the GOP primary to
Carl Orechio and
John N. Dennis. He resigned his seat before his term ended effective October 4, 1971. By 1982, Caputo had become a Democrat. That year, he ran in the Democratic primary for
Essex County Executive but was defeated by incumbent
Peter Shapiro and
East Orange mayor
Thomas H. Cooke Jr. In 2002, Caputo mounted a political comeback by running for a seat on the Essex County
Board of Chosen Freeholders from District 5 consisting of Belleville,
Bloomfield,
Glen Ridge,
Montclair, and Nutley. Running as a Democrat, he defeated incumbent Republican Freeholder Joseph P. Scarpelli. During his tenure on the Freeholder board, he reached the position of Vice President of the board. He would be re-elected to two-more three-year terms until he retired from the board in 2011 citing the difficulties of
holding two elected offices serving almost two different constituencies. In December 2005, following the death of 28th District Assemblyman
Donald Kofi Tucker, Caputo sought the nomination of being appointed to the vacant seat by the local county Democratic committee. He lost the convention vote 73%-27% to
Evelyn Williams. In 2007, Caputo along with Tucker's widow
Cleopatra ran in the Democratic primary for the same Assembly seat. With the backing of Newark
Mayor Cory Booker, Caputo and Tucker defeated incumbents
Craig A. Stanley and
Oadline Truitt in the primary. In the run-up to the general election, opponents used old articles from the 1960s and 70s to tie Caputo to controversial Newark activist
Anthony Imperiale. Caputo stated that he never supported Imperiale's positions. Upon Caputo's win in the general election, he returned to the Assembly after a 36-year gap, the second-longest gap in the state's history. From 2008 to 2011, Caputo simultaneously held his seat in the New Jersey General Assembly and as Freeholder. Such dual-office holding, unique to New Jersey, was allowed under a grandfather clause in the state law enacted by the
New Jersey Legislature and signed into law by
Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine in September 2007 that prohibited future dual-office-holding but allowed for those who had held both positions as of February 1, 2008, to remain. He would be easily re-elected to a fourth two-year term in 2009 but would face an unusual difficulty in 2011. After Belleville was removed from the 28th District in the
2011 legislative redistricting, Caputo moved to Nutley, New Jersey in order to seek reelection in the 28th District. The move led then-incumbent
36th District Assemblyman
Kevin J. Ryan to retire from the Assembly as he too was a resident of Nutley. Caputo draws both a pension for his career in education and another for his many years in the state legislature. At the same time, he also draws a salary as a sitting legislator. This is a legal practice in New Jersey often referred to as "
double dipping." Caputo resigned from office on March 22, 2023, after he was confirmed by the Senate to serve on the board of
Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.
Jackie Yustein of
Glen Ridge was selected by Democrats to fill the balance of Caputo's term of office and was sworn in on May 25, 2023. == Electoral history ==