Gaetano Victor Molinari (November 23, 1928July 25, 2018) was an American lawyer and Republican politician from

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 ...

. He represented

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

for four terms (1981–1989) and then served 12 years as Staten Island borough president (1990–2002). His daughter, Susan Molinari, also served as a U.S. Representative.

Education and military service

Gaetano Kenneth Molinari, "who changed his middle name as a teenager to Victor" was born on Manhattan's

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

. His father was

S. Robert Molinari Sigmund Robert Molinari (born Sigismondo Berengario Nicola Molinari; February 22, 1898 – May 31, 1957) was an American politician from New York. Molinari, who served one term in the New York State Assembly, was "the first Italian immigrant to s ...

(1897–1957), "the first Italian immigrant to serve in the New York state Assembly," representing the 2nd District of

Richmond County Richmond County may refer to places: Australia *Richmond County, New South Wales, a cadastral division Canada *Richmond County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Richmondshire, the original Richmond County in Yorkshire, England United States ...

in 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 1943 to 1944. After changing from a Republican to a Democrat, Molinari's father was not reelected. His mother, Elizabeth Margaret (Majoros), was of Czechoslovakian descent. Molinari attended private schools growing up and graduated from New Dorp High School in

in 1945. He attained a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from Staten Island's

Wagner College Wagner College is a private liberal arts college in Staten Island, New York City. Founded in 1883 and with an enrollment of approximately 2,200 students, Wagner is known for its academic program, The Wagner Plan for the Practical Liberal Arts. It ...

in 1949 and his law degree from

New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private law school in Tribeca, New York City. NYLS has a full-time day program and a part-time evening program. NYLS's faculty includes 54 full-time and 59 adjunct professors. Notable faculty members include E ...

in 1951. He served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

(attaining the rank of

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

), from 1951 to 1953 during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. He was admitted to the New York State Bar following his discharge from the military in 1953 and commenced practice in Staten Island.

Political career

Molinari was a Republican member of the

from 1975 to 1980, sitting in the 181st, 182nd and

183rd New York State Legislature The 183rd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3, 1979, to December 31, 1980, during the fifth and sixth years of Hugh Carey's Governor of New York, governorship, i ...

s. He was a delegate to the New York State Republican conventions in 1979 and the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

in both 1980 and 1984. In 1980, he was elected to the House of Representatives, unseating nine-term Democrat

John M. Murphy John Michael Murphy (August 3, 1926 – May 25, 2015) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 16th (1963–1973) and 17th (1973–1981) districts. He was convicted of taking bribes in the 1980 Abscam scanda ...

. The district included all of

and most of

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

. In 1982, his district lost its share of Manhattan, and was instead merged with a

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

-based district that was held by four-term Democrat Leo Zeferetti. Molinari defeated Zeferetti won with 57%. He was reelected to the three succeeding Congresses with minimal opposition and served from January 3, 1981, until his resignation December 31, 1989, to become Borough President of

. He was succeeded in the House by his daughter,

Susan Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...

, who also served on the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

. He served as Borough President from January 1, 1990, to December 31, 2001. In 1994, a week before the statewide elections, Molinari announced his view that Karen Burstein, the Democratic nominee for New York Attorney General, was not qualified to serve as attorney general because she was a

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

. The combination of Molinari's remarks, a strong national Republican showing, and the win of George Pataki in the governor's race, led to Republican

Dennis Vacco Dennis C. Vacco (born August 16, 1952) is an American lawyer and Republican Party politician. He graduated with a B.A. from Colgate University in 1974, a J.D. from the University at Buffalo Law School in 1978, and was admitted to the New York ...

's narrowly defeating Burstein. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called his remarks "gutter politics". In 1995, Molinari ran for

Richmond County District Attorney The Richmond County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for Richmond County, coterminous with the Borough of Staten Island, in New York City. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws, as vio ...

. He lost the race to Democratic incumbent, William L. Murphy.

A Life of Service (book)

Molinaro co-authored his autobiography A Life of Service with former NYC Police Lt. -Kossman, a "highly decorated cop, who is also a lawyer and a registered nurse." Feerick, after five years of appeals, began to serve her sentence for having illegally searched for a stolen police radio. With a search warrant still pending, she launched a technically legal "random .. door-to-door" search that, in being carried out, went beyond legal bounds. Feerick-Kossman, a mother with husband Joseph Kossman of two sons, the second seven weeks old, entered

Rikers Island Rikers Island is a island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx that contains New York City's main jail complex. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was originally under in size, but has ...

jail. Molinari successfully "lobbied Gov. George Pataki to commute her sentence" and she was released a month later. Her law license was returned in 2000. The book, whose start can be traced to Feerick's pushing, discusses Molinari's success at convincing a then age 44

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 ...

to run for mayor of NYC, Giuliani's push for Molinari to run for

's Boro President, and the (2001) closing of

Fresh Kills Landfill The Fresh Kills Landfill was a landfill covering in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Staten Island in the United States. The name comes from the landfill's location along the banks of the Fresh Kills estuary in western State ...

, "the largest .. in the world."

Personal life

Guy Molinari's daughter

succeeded him as a member of Congress. She is married to Bill Paxon, a former United States House Representative from Buffalo.

Death and legacy

After spending his final years in his home in Bay Terrace, Guy Molinari died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on July 25, 2018, at the age of 89. In September 2003, a new Staten Island Ferry boat was built and was christened the ''Guy V. Molinari''; it joined the New York City Department of Transportation fleet in September 2004, a year later. The boat continues to transport commuters and tourists between Staten Island and Manhattan.

James S. A. Corey James S. A. Corey is the pen name used by collaborators Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, authors of the science fiction series ''The Expanse''. The first and last name are taken from Abraham's and Franck's middle names, respectively, and S. A. ar ...

's novel '' Leviathan Wakes'' and its television adaptation, ''The Expanse'', featured a spaceship named for Molinari.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Molinari, Guy 1928 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American politicians Staten Island borough presidents Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly American politicians of Italian descent United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War United States Marines New York Law School alumni Military personnel from New York City Wagner College alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Politicians from Staten Island New Dorp High School alumni Politicians from Manhattan American people of Czechoslovak descent Deaths from pneumonia in New York City