Benefit slated for baby who lost his father
BY PATRICIA A. MILLER Staff Writer
Six-month-old Markus Ippolito already knows who his father is. "Where's Dada?" asks his aunt, Danielle Ippolito.

COURTESY OF GAIL FATTUROSO Robert Ippolito holds his son Markus late last year. Ippolito died in February from undetermined causes. His family is holding a benefit Saturday to establish a trust fund for the baby.

The baby immediately turns around and grins at a poster-size photo of a smiling 26-year-old Robert Ippolito on the wall in his grandmother's house. Ippolito is holding his baby son, who is wearing a navy-blue baseball cap on backward.

Unfortunately, Markus Ippolito will never remember his father, except through pictures and the memories of his family. Robert Ippolito was found dead in his Brick apartment in February.

"Robert was a kind soul who loved his family and son very much," Gail Fatturoso, his mother, said. "He had hopes for a bright future."

The cause of his death still has not been determined, his mother said.

"Do you know what it's like to cry for 36 days straight?" she said. "I think I'm still in shock."

His sister, Danielle, and his family are holding a benefit for the baby on April 12 from noon to 4 p.m. at Hemingway's Café, 612 Boulevard in Seaside Heights.

"We want to secure his future with a trust fund," Danielle said.

The four-hour benefit is a dance/fitness Zumba-Thon. Danielle will teach Zumba, a form of Latin dancing, to anyone who wants to learn. But participants don't have to do the dance if they don't want to.

"Not everyone has to participate or do Zumba," she said. "They can come and just hang out. All the money people have given us, we put in an account for him."

Tickets for the benefit are $20 each. There will be a 50/50 raffle, gift auction, music, food and drinks.

All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Markus Ippolito Trust Fund.

Markus lives with Fatturoso, who hopes to adopt him eventually. The baby's mother is unable to care for him, she said.

Robert Ippolito wrote a letter to his son a few months ago. Gail Fatturoso keeps her son's three-page letter in a curio cabinet in her living room, along with other cherished possessions. She plans to share it with Markus when he is old enough to understand.

"I hope you make better decisions than your Dad," Ippolito wrote. "I just hope I'm not too late with being a good dad. My idea of being a good dad is always being there for years, protecting you from harm, given you a secure home and family and loving you till the day I die."

"I'm going to let him [Markus] read the letter," Fatturoso said. "I have videos of [his dad]. He loved his child more than anything."

People who wish to send donations for the baby can make the check out toMarkus Ippolito and mail it to Gail Fatturoso, 1695 Tilford Blvd, Brick, NJ 08724.