Raffaele "Ralph" E. Quattrociocchi (June 11, 1929 – February 24, 1996) was a 20th-century politician most notable for having served as

New York State Senator 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 compo ...

. He was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

for most of his political career.

Life

Quattrociocchi was born on June 11, 1929, in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

. He attended Edison Technical and Industrial High School. After graduation, he served the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

where he became Airman First Class in a radar unit. He then began a 30-year career as a communications technician at

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...

, where he joined the

Communications Workers of America The Communications Workers of America (CWA) is the largest communications and media labor union in the United States, representing about 700,000 members in both the private and public sectors (also in Canada and Puerto Rico). The union has 27 loc ...

. His first foray into politics was an unsuccessful run for the

Monroe County, New York Monroe County is a county in the Finger Lakes region of the State of New York. The county is along Lake Ontario's southern shore. At the 2020 census, Monroe County's population was 759,443, an increase since the 2010 census. Its county seat an ...

legislature in 1973. He prevailed in the election two years later for the same seat, representing part of Greece, New York, and held that office for a total of five consecutive terms. In 1984, he unseated incumbent

William M. Steinfeldt William M. Steinfeldt (March 22, 1917 – September 4, 2006) was an American engineer and politician from New York (state), New York. Life He was born on March 22, 1917, in Rochester, New York. He graduated Bachelor of Science, B.Sc. in chemical e ...

for the 55th district Senate seat. Quattrociocchi was a member 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 ...

from 1985 to 1992, sitting in the 186th, 187th, 188th and

189th New York State Legislature The 189th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 9, 1991, to December 31, 1992, during the ninth and tenth years of Mario Cuomo's governorship, in Albany. Backgroun ...

Quattrociocchi's accomplishments include securing state funding to extend

New York State Route 531 New York State Route 531 (NY 531) is a limited-access, east–west state highway located in Monroe County, New York, in the United States. The route extends for from the far northwestern suburbs of Rochester to the town of Gates locat ...

to Ogden, New York, forming a senate task force on teen stress, and instituting "Operation Watch" to reduce the likelihood of mishaps at railroad crossing signals. In 1988, Quattrociocchi was swept up in

Robert M. Morgenthau Robert Morris Morgenthau ( ; July 31, 1919July 21, 2019) was an American lawyer. From 1975 until his retirement in 2009, he was the District Attorney for New York County (the borough of Manhattan), having previously served as United States Atto ...

's investigation of Senate Minority Leader Manfred Ohrenstein and the alleged misuse of state monies to fund the 1986 campaigns of several state Senators. The presiding judge found that Quattrociocchi was aware that a full-time aide had been hired for the sole purpose of campaigning, but since the deed had taken place outside of New York County, the District Attorney had no jurisdiction. District Attorneys in Albany and Monroe counties subsequently declined to prosecute. In the early 1990s, the 55th senate district was redrawn to include

Brighton, Monroe County, New York Brighton is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 37,137 at the 2020 census. History The Town of Brighton, located on the southeastern border of the city of Rochester, is located on the traditional homelands of the ...

and parts of the city of Rochester, ultimately leading to his defeat in both the 1992 Democratic primary and the general election. Quattrociocchi switched political parties the year before the 1994 election, only to be defeated again. He died of a heart attack in 1996 and is interred in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quattrociocchi, Ralph E. 1929 births 1996 deaths AT&T people Democratic Party New York (state) state senators Politicians from Rochester, New York United States Air Force airmen People from Greece, New York 20th-century American politicians