Herbert F. DeSimone (September 5, 1929 – November 27, 2013) was an American lawyer and politician from

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

. He served as the 64th Attorney General of Rhode Island and as President Nixon's Assistant Secretary of Transportation for the Environment and Urban System.

Early life

DeSimone was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

, the only child of Florie DeSimone and Lena (Capuano) DeSimone. He attended

La Salle Academy } La Salle Academy is an American private, Catholic all-boys' high school in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York. The school is run by the Eastern North American District of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. ...

before graduating from Brown University in 1951. While at Brown, DeSimone played college football and was defensive tackle for the 1949 team that was inducted into the Brown University Hall of Fame. In 1954, he received his law degree from Columbia University Law School and was admitted to the Rhode Island bar. He began the practice of law in Rhode Island.

Political career

As a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, DeSimone served as Attorney General of Rhode Island from 1967-1971. He was the 1970 Republican nominee for

Governor of Rhode Island The governor of Rhode Island is the head of government of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and serves as commander-in-chief of the state's Army National Guard and Air National Guard. The current governor is Democrat Dan McKee. In their capac ...

but lost the election to

Frank Licht Frank R. Licht (March 3, 1916May 30, 1987) was an American politician and the 67th Governor of Rhode Island from 1969 to 1973, serving as the first Jewish governor in Rhode Island state history. He was also an associate justice of the Rhode Is ...

. Shortly after his defeat, President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

nominated DeSimone to be assistant secretary of the United States Department of Transportation for Environment and Urban System. He served in that position from 1971 to 1972. In 1972 he ran for Governor of Rhode Island again against Philip W. Noel, and was defeated. He then returned to the private practice of law. In August 1976, President Gerald Ford nominated DeSimone to succeed Edward William Day as judge for the

United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island (in case citations, D.R.I.) is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Rhode Island. The District Court was created in 1790 when Rhode Island ratified th ...

but United States Senator

Edward Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...

blocked the nomination. In 1985, DeSimone was appointed Director of the

Rhode Island Department of Transportation The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is a Rhode Island state government agency charged with design, construction, maintenance and inspection of a wide range of transportation infrastructure. These include 3,300 lane miles of stat ...

by Governor Edward D. DiPrete. He also served as Director of the Providence Industrial Development Corporation and General Counsel for the Rhode Island Housing and Finance Corporation. In 2002 he was awarded the Neil J. Houston Award for contributions to the Criminal Justice systems and Public Interest. He was also awarded Man of the Year by

Engineering News Record ''Engineering News-Record'' (widely known as ''ENR'') is an American weekly magazine that provides news, analysis, data and opinion for the construction industry worldwide. It is widely regarded as one of the construction industry's most authori ...

and Man of the Year by the Italo-American Club of Rhode Island. DeSimone was a longtime advisor and mentor to Providence Mayor

Buddy Cianci Vincent Albert "Buddy" Cianci, Jr. (, ; , ; April 30, 1941 – January 28, 2016) was an American politician, attorney, radio talk show host, political commentator, and convicted felon who served as the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island from 1975 ...

. Cianci started his career in DeSimone's Attorney General office, and worked on DeSimone's 1970 and 1972 gubernatorial campaigns. DeSimone was present at Cianci's home the night in March 1983 when Cianci was accused of beating Raymond DeLeo. DeSimone testified in Cianci's trial, in which Cianci pleaded no contest to assault and assault with a dangerous weapon.

Personal life

DeSimone and his wife Sally Reynolds DeSimone had three children: Herbert DeSimone, Douglas DeSimone and Deborah DeSimone. DeSimone died in Providence, Rhode Island on November 27, 2013.

References

External links

Herbert F. DeSimone-obituary

{{DEFAULTSORT:DeSimone, Herbert F. 1929 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American lawyers Politicians from Providence, Rhode Island La Salle Academy alumni Brown University alumni Columbia Law School alumni Rhode Island Republicans Rhode Island Attorneys General Rhode Island lawyers United States Department of Transportation officials Nixon administration personnel Burials in Rhode Island