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 The current United States ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago is Shante Moore as Chargé d'Affaires ''ad interim''. The United States Embassy is located in Trinidad and Tobago's capital, Port of Spain, and was established there on August 31, 1962. ...

from 2018 to 2021. He previously served as Chairman of the

New York Republican State Committee The New York Republican State Committee, established in 1855, is the New York State affiliate of the United States Republican Party (GOP). The party has headquarters in Albany, Buffalo, and New York City.

until September 2009 and as the chairman of the Nassau County Republican Committee from 1983 to May 24, 2018. Mondello was a lawyer with the firm of Berkman, Henoch, Peterson and Peddy of

Garden City, New York Garden City is a village located on Long Island in Nassau County New York. It is the Greater Garden City area's anchor community. The population was 23,272 at the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Garden City is primarily located within ...

, and held the rank of

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in the

New York Guard The New York Guard (NYG) is the state defense force of New York State, also called The New York State Military Reserve. Originally called the New York State Militia it can trace its lineage back to the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Th ...

. Prior to being elected state chairman, he served as the head of the Nassau County Republican Committee for twenty three years. He was a past

Town supervisor The administrative divisions of New York are the various units of government that provide local services in the State of New York. The state is divided into boroughs, counties, cities, townships called "towns", and villages. (The only borou ...

Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead, New York, North Hempstead and Oys ...

, as well as an attorney, college professor, high school teacher, and probation officer. He served as deputy commander of the New York Guard, and also served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

, and

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

Early career and background

Mondello was born in

Brooklyn, New York 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 ...

, on February 13, 1938, to a Puerto Rican mother and a father of Sicilian descent, Joseph Mondello. Upon graduating high school, Mondello entered the

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

as an

airman An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred as a soldier in other definitions. In civilian aviation usage, t ...

from 1955 to 1956, and transferred to the

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

in the

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

from 1956 to 1958. After being honorably discharged, Mondello attended

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 ...

, and earned his

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 ...

in 1962. After graduating, Mondello worked as a teacher in the East Meadow school system and later became a

probation officer A probation and parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probati ...

in Nassau County. Chairman Mondello would later return to his alma mater to teach as an adjunct professor of government. His activities as a probation officer spurred him to return to the study of law, and in 1966, Mondello entered the

New England School of Law New England Law , Boston (formerly New England School of Law) is a private law school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded as Portia School of Law in 1908 and is located in downtown Boston near the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Fina ...

. Mondello distinguished himself during his tenure in law school; he was named to law review after his first semester, an honor rarely accorded a freshman law student. He graduated in 1969, and after passing the

bar examination A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associa ...

joined the

Levittown Levittown is the name of several large suburban housing developments created in the United States (including one in Puerto Rico) by William J. Levitt and his company Levitt & Sons. Built after World War II for returning white veterans and their ...

based law firm of Flaum, Imbarrato and Mondello. Mondello then served in a host of legal positions, including counsel to the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...

, and an

Assistant District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

in the Complaint, Felony, and Trial Bureaus. He would later serve as a Special Agent in the U.S.

Office of Naval Intelligence The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) is the military intelligence agency of the United States Navy. Established in 1882 primarily to advance the Navy's modernization efforts, it is the oldest member of the U.S. Intelligence Community and serves ...

. In 1975 he ran and was elected to the proposed

Nassau County Legislature The Nassau County Legislature is the lawmaking body of Nassau County, New York. Currently, it has 19 different members from 19 different districts. It was formed in 1996 to succeed the county's Board of Supervisors, which was ruled unconstitutio ...

but because the electorate failed to approve a referendum setting up a legislative form of government in the County, never served in that capacity.

Political career

From 1979 to 1987, Mondello served as a Councilman of the Town of

. In January 1987, Mondello was appointed Town supervisor of Hempstead, which is the largest town in the United States with a population close to 800,000. He was then reelected by wide margins in 1987, 1989, and 1991. In 1984, Mondello became Chairman of the Nassau County Republican Committee, a position he held before stepping down in May 2018. In March 2018, he was nominated by

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

to be

. He was confirmed for the post by the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

on June 28, 2018, and appointed on July 2. Mondello presented his credentials to President

Paula-Mae Weekes Paula-Mae Weekes (born 23 December 1958) is a Trinidadian politician and jurist who is the sixth president of Trinidad and Tobago. She is the first female President of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the second female head of state in Trinidad an ...

on October 22, 2018. He resigned on January 13, 2021.

Death

Mondello died on August 1, 2022, at the age of 84.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mondello, Joseph 1938 births 2022 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Trinidad and Tobago American lawyers and judges of Italian descent American politicians of Italian descent American political consultants County legislators in New York (state) Hispanic and Latino American diplomats Hispanic and Latino American lawyers Hofstra University alumni New York National Guard personnel New York (state) Republicans New York (state) lawyers People from Hempstead (town), New York People of the Office of Naval Intelligence Politicians from Nassau County, New York Puerto Rican people in New York (state) politics Schoolteachers from New York (state) State political party chairs of New York (state) Town supervisors in New York (state) 21st-century American diplomats