The house at 2732 34th Street, Northwest. Photograph by Carol Ross Joynt.
Elham Cicippio confirmed on Wednesday that she and her husband, Joseph, have put their Beaux Arts Observatory Circle residence on the market. The listing
price is $4.35 million for the house at 2732 34th Street, Northwest. The name Joseph
Cicippio will always be in the history books, as he was a central figure in the Lebanon hostage crisis of the late ’80s and early ’90s. Cicippio was kidnapped by Iranian
terrorists in January 1987, when he was the comptroller at the American university in
Beirut. He was held for five years and freed in December 1991.
Several years later, after he and other hostages filed lawsuits, Cicippio and his
wife were awarded $30 million in a judgment against the Iranian government. The money
came from frozen Iranian assets held by the US Treasury. In 2005, a federal judge
in DC awarded Cicippio’s family members $91 million for the emotional distress they
suffered while he was held captive. That money was also collected from frozen Iranian
assets. That money has never been distributed to the family members, according to Joseph Cicippio in a phone interview. “We were told there were no more Iranian frozen assets that could be allocated to this award,” he says. The award remains active but, he says, “I don’t think it will ever get paid.”
Cicippio, who is 83, says that after he was released and returned to the US he moved to Princeton, New Jersey, then to Virginia, and to DC in 2000. “That’s when we bought this house,” he says. “We’ve put our heart and soul into it.”
In the years since his release he wrote a memoir, Chains to Roses, published in 1993, and became the chief financial officer at USAID. He tried retirement 13 years ago, “but I went bananas, because I’ve always worked since I was in eighth grade. I have to work every day. It keeps me young.” He now has an IT company, Technical Specialities, in Lanham, Maryland.
The Cicippios bought the four-bedroom house for $2.1 million. Elham Cicippio
said the couple had not yet decided where they will move next, but the 34th Street
house had become too big for just the two of them. Joseph says they are still deciding whether to remain in the Washington area.
According to the New York Times, Cicippio was held captive by the Iranian-allied Revolutionary Justice Organization,
who publicly threatened to kill him three times. The Lebanon hostage crisis spanned
a decade from 1982 to ’92. During that time 96 hostages were kidnapped and held captive,
including 25 Americans, two of whom were killed: the CIA’s William Francis Buckley and Marine colonel William Higgins.
Cicippio says he has moved on from the episode. “I don’t have animosity,” he says. “It’s not in my makeup. We don’t speak about it. I was captured. I was held. It’s over.” He says he did not get therapy except for the debriefers who talked with him on the flights from Damascus, where he was released, to Germany, where he was examined, and back to the US. He said he keeps in touch with only one fellow hostage, who is French.
Joseph Cicippio Has Put His DC Home on the Market for $4.3 Million
He was held captive for five years during the Lebanon hostage crisis.
Elham Cicippio confirmed on Wednesday that she and her husband,
Joseph, have put their Beaux Arts Observatory Circle residence on the market. The listing
price is $4.35 million for the house at 2732 34th Street, Northwest. The name Joseph
Cicippio will always be in the history books, as he was a central figure in the Lebanon hostage crisis of the late ’80s and early ’90s. Cicippio was kidnapped by Iranian
terrorists in January 1987, when he was the comptroller at the American university in
Beirut. He was held for five years and freed in December 1991.
Several years later, after he and other hostages filed lawsuits, Cicippio and his
wife were awarded $30 million in a judgment against the Iranian government. The money
came from frozen Iranian assets held by the US Treasury. In 2005, a federal judge
in DC awarded Cicippio’s family members $91 million for the emotional distress they
suffered while he was held captive. That money was also collected from frozen Iranian
assets. That money has never been distributed to the family members, according to Joseph Cicippio in a phone interview. “We were told there were no more Iranian frozen assets that could be allocated to this award,” he says. The award remains active but, he says, “I don’t think it will ever get paid.”
Cicippio, who is 83, says that after he was released and returned to the US he moved to Princeton, New Jersey, then to Virginia, and to DC in 2000. “That’s when we bought this house,” he says. “We’ve put our heart and soul into it.”
In the years since his release he wrote a memoir, Chains to Roses, published in 1993, and became the chief financial officer at USAID. He tried retirement 13 years ago, “but I went bananas, because I’ve always worked since I was in eighth grade. I have to work every day. It keeps me young.” He now has an IT company, Technical Specialities, in Lanham, Maryland.
The Cicippios bought the four-bedroom house for $2.1 million. Elham Cicippio
said the couple had not yet decided where they will move next, but the 34th Street
house had become too big for just the two of them. Joseph says they are still deciding whether to remain in the Washington area.
According to the
New York Times, Cicippio was held captive by the Iranian-allied Revolutionary Justice Organization,
who publicly threatened to kill him three times. The Lebanon hostage crisis spanned
a decade from 1982 to ’92. During that time 96 hostages were kidnapped and held captive,
including 25 Americans, two of whom were killed: the CIA’s
William Francis Buckley and Marine colonel
William Higgins.
Cicippio says he has moved on from the episode. “I don’t have animosity,” he says. “It’s not in my makeup. We don’t speak about it. I was captured. I was held. It’s over.” He says he did not get therapy except for the debriefers who talked with him on the flights from Damascus, where he was released, to Germany, where he was examined, and back to the US. He said he keeps in touch with only one fellow hostage, who is French.
This post has been updated throughout.
Most Popular in News & Politics
March for Our Lives Is Planning a Huge DC Protest Against Gun Violence in June
Young DC Conservatives: No One Wants to Date Us
Dognapping Is Becoming a Problem in DC. Here’s How Pet Owners Can Protect Themselves and Their Pets.
Washington DC’s 500 Most Influential People
The Trucker Convoy Has Given Up on DC Yet Again. We Tried One Last Time to Find Out What They Wanted.
Washingtonian Magazine
June 2022: 101 Reasons to Love Summer in DC
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
The 6 Most Notable Homes in the Washington Area This Month—and Who Bought and Sold Them
A Johnny Cash Statue Is Coming to the Capitol
LGBTQ Pioneer Barney Frank’s Story Is Now a Graphic Novel
Inside the Effort to Revamp the DC Archives
More from News & Politics
DC Spring Animal Sightings, Ranked From Worst to Wildest
March for Our Lives Is Planning a Huge DC Protest Against Gun Violence in June
Dognapping Is Becoming a Problem in DC. Here’s How Pet Owners Can Protect Themselves and Their Pets.
Should We Care About What’s Left of the Trucker Convoy?
5 Facts About Dumfries, Virginia, the Possible New Home of the Washington Commanders
Trucker Convoy Stragglers Get Kicked Out of Racetrack, Form New Movement, Visit the National Mall, Don’t Go Home
The Trucker Convoy Has Given Up on DC Yet Again. We Tried One Last Time to Find Out What They Wanted.
Number of Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs Hits Record Low