Sebastian "Sam" Leone (December 6, 1924 — November 14, 2016) was the borough president of Brooklyn from 1970 to 1976 and a justice of New York Supreme Court from 1977 to 2001.

Early life

Leone was born on the Lower East Side of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

in 1924 to Anthony Leone and the former Josephine Gilistro. When he was an infant, his family moved to

Bensonhurst, Brooklyn Bensonhurst is a residential neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bordered on the northwest by 14th Avenue, on the northeast by 60th Street, on the southeast by Avenue P and 22nd ...

, where he grew up. He attended P.S. 97, David Boody Junior High School, and Lafayette High School, all in

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 ...

, and after a stint in the

U.S. 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, cl ...

, graduated from St. John's University in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

in 1946.

Political career

Leone got his start in politics in 1948, when as a law student he met Frank J. Pino, then a

New York State Assemblyman New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

, who had come into the Leone family's grocery store in Bensonhurst. He rang doorbells and spoke to voters on behalf of Mr. Pino, who was in a tough reelection fight that year. After Pino won his election, Leone joined the United Democratic Club in Bensonhurst. Leone graduated from his undergraduate alma mater's law school in February 1949 and entered private practice shortly thereafter. After two years he set up his own law firm, then formed a partnership with Irwin R. Brownstein, who later became a New York legislator and a judge. In 1965, Leone became a law secretary to Judge Philip M. Kleinfeld, who had also been a long-time legislator and judge, and at that time was a judge in the Appellate Division in Brooklyn. The next year, Leone became district leader of the United Democratic Club, a post previously held by Brownstein. After five years as Kleinfeld's law secretary, Leone was "angling to become a Civil Court judge," but the Brooklyn Borough President,

Abe Stark Abe Stark (September 28, 1894 – July 2, 1972) was an American businessman and politician. Born on the Lower East Side in New York City, he became a tailor and owned a clothing store at 1514 Pitkin Avenue in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn ...

, became ill and decided to resign, leaving a three-year unexpired term. Leone was selected by Meade Esposito, the long-time Brooklyn Democratic leader, to be Stark's replacement, and was promptly elected interim Borough President by the Brooklyn City Council delegation on September 9, 1970. He was formally installed as borough president on September 18, 1970. Two months later, the voters elected him to serve the remainder of Stark's term, and in November 1973, he was elected to his own full term.

Judicial career

However, Leone was averse to the fund-raising required for political office, so in 1976, he was nominated for a position as a justice of the New York Supreme Court. He served from January 1977 until he retired in January 2001.

Personal life

Leone married Helene Morgenstern in 1966, and they had a son, Matthew. He died November 14, 2016.

In popular culture

The opening credits of the television show ''

Welcome Back, Kotter ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' is an American sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan as a high-school teacher in charge of a racially and ethnically diverse remedial education class called the "Sweathogs." Recorded in front of a live studio audience, the seri ...

'', which was set in Brooklyn, began with the image of a large highway sign that read, "Welcome to Brooklyn, 4th Largest City in America, Hon. Sebastian Leone Borough President".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leone, Sebastian 1924 births 2016 deaths Brooklyn borough presidents New York Supreme Court Justices Lafayette High School (New York City) alumni St. John's University (New York City) alumni 20th-century American judges