Joseph M. Margiotta (June 6, 1927 – November 28, 2008) was an American political boss who ran the

Nassau County, New York Nassau County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. At the 2020 U.S. census, Nassau County's population is 1,395,774. The county seat is Mineola and the largest town is Hempstead. Nassau County is situated on western Long Island ...

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

, considered "one of the most powerful political organizations in New York State", until his 1983 convictions on federal charges.

Life

Margiotta represented Uniondale 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 1966 to 1976, sitting in the 176th, 177th, 178th, 179th, 180th and

181st New York State Legislature The 181st New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 8, 1975, to August 5, 1976, during the first and second years of Hugh Carey's governorship in Albany. Background ...

s. Margiotta became chairman of the Nassau Republican Party in 1967, exercising control over political appointments and patronage jobs, and playing an active role in issues including allocation of

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...

franchises and bridge tolls. Residents would often call a local Republican committeeman to deal with issues like broken streetlights instead of calling a county agency. At a campaign rally held in 1972 with a crowd of 15,000 at the

Nassau Coliseum Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, east of New York City. The Long Island venue is approximately east of the eastern limits of the New York City Borough of ...

as part of

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 ...

's re-election campaign, Nixon's opening words were "This is the biggest and best rally, Joe Margiotta, I have ever seen". He was convicted in 1981 for his involvement in a scheme in which a

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

insurance company would split its commissions with Republican politicians, with some $678,000 brought in over a decade. The government's case relied on the presumption that Margiotta's influence over county government made him a public official subject to federal extortion laws, even though he was not an elected official. Margiotta insisted that he had not broken any laws, stating that "I've been convicted because I’ve been a successful political leader". After his conviction on federal mail fraud and conspiracy charges as part of the municipal insurance kickback scheme, he was forced to resign from his post and spent 14 months in prison. Among his most successful protégés were former

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

Alfonse M. D'Amato, former New York State Republican Party chairman

Joseph Mondello Joseph Nestor Mondello (February 13, 1938 – August 1, 2022) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago from 2018 to 2021. He previously served as Chairman of the New York Republi ...

, and

Dean Skelos Dean George Skelos (born February 16, 1948) is an American former politician from Long Island, New York. A Republican, Skelos served in the New York State Assembly and later represented the Ninth District in the New York State Senate from 1985 t ...

, majority leader of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

. Margiotta, a resident of

Brookville, New York Brookville is a village located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 3,465 at the time of the 2010 census. History The geographic Village of Brook ...

, died on November 28, 2008, in St. Francis Hospital in Flower Hill, New York, where he had been hospitalized for nearly a week.

Hofstra University

Bust on Hofstra Campus Honoring Joseph Margiotta

Margiotta was an alumnus of

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...

, which named its field house Margiotta Hall in his honor in 1991.Brand, Rick; Mallia, Joseph
"Joseph Margiotta, former Republican leader, dies at 81"
''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...

'', November 29, 2008. Retrieved September 27, 2019. Margiotta was a Hofstra student-athlete and long-time supporter. He founded the Hofstra Pride Club and served as its president for more than 20 years. The Joseph M. Margiotta Distinguished Service Award is given annually by Hofstra in recognition of extraordinary dedication, generosity and service to the Hofstra Pride Club and Hofstra athletics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Margiotta, Joseph M. 1927 births 2008 deaths Hofstra University alumni Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly People from Uniondale, New York American political bosses from New York (state) People from Brookville, New York 20th-century American legislators