Anthony S. Seminerio (February 15, 1935 – January 6, 2011) was an American politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Life

Seminerio graduated from the

New York Institute of Technology The New York Institute of Technology (NYIT or New York Tech) is a private research university founded in 1955. It has two main campuses in New York—one in Old Westbury, on Long Island, and one in Manhattan. Additionally, it has a cybersecu ...

with a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

. Then he became a corrections officer. He was an executive board member representing the

Correction Officers' Benevolent Association The Correction Officers' Benevolent Association (COBA) is the second largest trade union for law enforcement in New York. COBA is also the largest municipal jail union in the United States. It represents corrections staff within the New York Cit ...

where he engaged in negotiations that forced him to travel between

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and the state capital of

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

. In addition to being the

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The i ...

negotiator for members of the Dept. of Corrections Seminerio also served as the founder and treasurer of the New York State Peace Officers Association. He was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

from 1979 to 2009, sitting in the 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th, 189th, 190th, 191st, 192nd, 193rd, 194th, 195th, 196th, 197th and

198th New York State Legislature The 198th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7, 2009, to December 31, 2010, during the later part of David Paterson's governorship, in Albany. On June 8, 2009, ...

s. He represented the neighborhoods of Richmond Hill, Queens and Glendale, Queens. As a member of the New York Assembly, he was one of the more conservative members of the New York City delegation. He opposed abortions, supported capital punishment, and took a tough stance on crime. Thus often at odds with Speaker

Sheldon Silver Sheldon Silver (February 13, 1944 – January 24, 2022) was an American Democratic Party politician, attorney, and convicted felon from New York City who served as speaker of the New York State Assembly from 1994 to 2015. A native of Manhattan' ...

, he endorsed several prominent Republican candidates in the past, including

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...

, George Pataki, and Al D'Amato. He resigned on June 23, 2009, following an indictment for alleged

Honest services fraud Honest services fraud is a crime defined in (the federal mail and wire fraud statute), added by the United States Congress in 1988, which states "For the purposes of this chapter, the term ''scheme or artifice to defraud'' includes a scheme or ...

delivered by the

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in eight New York counties: New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess and Sullivan. Establishe ...

. In June 2009, he pleaded guilty to taking large sums of money from hospitals through a consulting firm while still a member of the New York State Assembly. He died on January 6, 2011, while serving a prison term in the Federal Correctional Complex, Butner in Butner, North Carolina. His appeal was never heard but his conviction was abated due to his death.

References

External links

The Man Who Couldn't Be Judge

Criminal Charges

Notice of death
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seminerio, Anthony S. 1935 births 2011 deaths Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Politicians convicted of honest services fraud Prisoners who died in United States federal government detention People from Queens, New York New York Institute of Technology alumni New York (state) politicians convicted of crimes American trade union leaders Leaders of organizations New York City Department of Correction