Joseph John DioGuardi (; born September 20, 1940) is an American

certified public accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...

and a Republican politician. DioGuardi served in the House of Representatives representing the 20th Congressional district of New York from 1985 to 1989. He was the first Albanian American voting member of Congress. He was also the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in New York during the 2010 special election, but lost to incumbent senator Kirsten Gillibrand. DioGuardi, a former partner at Arthur Andersen & Co., also serves as president of the Albanian American Civic League, an organization he runs with his wife, Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi. He is the father of songwriter and record producer Kara DioGuardi.

Early life, education, and business career

DioGuardi's father, Joseph Sr., immigrated to the United States from Greci, Italy. The family traces its roots to the

Arbëreshë Arbën/Arbër, from which derived Arbënesh/Arbëresh originally meant all Albanians, until the 18th century. Today it is used for different groups of Albanian origin, including: * Arbër (given name), an Albanian masculine given name * Arbëresh ...

(Albanian) minority in Italy. His father eventually established a grocery and vegetable store in East Bronx. The family moved to Westchester County, New York, in 1957. Joseph Sr. married Grace Paparella on January 8, 1939, and the couple settled in Orchard Hills in White Plains. Their son, Joseph J., is the oldest of three DioGuardi children. After the family's move to Westchester, he attended

Fordham Preparatory School Fordham Preparatory School (also known as Fordham Prep) is an American private, Jesuit, boys' college-preparatory school located on the Rose Hill campus of Fordham University in the Bronx, New York City. From its founding in 1841 until 1970, the ...

. In 1957, he landed a summer job as a busboy for Elmwood Country Club in Westchester County. He advanced to a waiter position.. DioGuardi graduated from

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

in 1962. After college, he was hired at Arthur Andersen & Co. He became a

Certified Public Accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...

and achieved partner status at age 31, after 10 years at the firm. DioGuardi specialized in federal and state taxation for non-profit organizations, as well as the tax economics of charitable giving.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

;1984 Incumbent Democrat U.S. Congressman Richard Ottinger of

New York's 20th congressional district The 20th congressional district of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York's Capital District. It includes all of Albany and Schenectady counties, and portions of Montgomery, Rensselaer ...

decided to retire in 1984. The Democratic leaning district had a sizable minority population in the cities of Mount Vernon, Yonkers and New Rochelle. DioGuardi decided to run as a Republican and defeated Oren Teicher 50%-48%. ;1986 DioGuardi won re-election to a second term, defeating former U.S. Congresswoman Bella Abzug, who had relocated from Greenwich Village in Manhattan to Mount Vernon, 54%-45%. ;1988 DioGuardi ran for re-election to a third term but lost to Nita Lowey, the Assistant Secretary of State of New York, 50%-47%. ;Controversy During the campaign, the

Gannett Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.Gannett Suburban Newspapers accused one of the Westchester area's largest car dealers, Crabtree Automotive, of skirting federal election laws by funneling into DioGuardi's campaign. The'' New York Times'' reported: "Several employees explained in interviews that they were given $2,000 each in company checks and were asked to deposit them into their own bank accounts and then write personal checks for the same amount to the DioGuardi campaign. Joseph Crabtree, the company's chief executive, and his son Robert, the company's president, served on the campaign's finance committee." The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission and Mr. Crabtree resigned from the campaign. DioGuardi steadfastly denied the charges and his campaign also filed its own complaint with the State Board of Elections that argued, contrary to his opponent's commercial, that the employees in question put funds in a separate "People For DioGuardi" campaign account as required by law. ;1992 After redistricting, Lowey decided to run in the newly redrawn

New York's 18th congressional district The 18th congressional district of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives that contains the northern suburbs and exurbs of New York City. It is currently represented by Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney. ...

. DioGuardi challenged her in a rematch and lost again, this time 56%-44%. ;1994 Incumbent Republican U.S. Congressman

Hamilton Fish IV Hamilton Fish IV or Hamilton Fish Jr. (June 3, 1926 – July 23, 1996) was an American Republican politician who represented parts of New York's Hudson Valley region in the United States House of Representatives for thirteen terms from 1969 to ...

of the neighboring New York's 19th congressional district decided to retire in 1994. DioGuardi ran in the crowded six-candidate Republican primary, which was won by

Sue W. Kelly Sue Weisenbarger Kelly (née Madelyn Sue Weisenbarger; born September 26, 1936) is an American businesswoman and politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2007, representing New York's ...

23%-20%. DioGuardi then ran again in the general election as the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

nominee. Kelly won the general election with 52% of the vote. Hamilton Fish V, the Democratic nominee, ranked second with 37%, DioGuardi ranked third with 10%, and Catherine Portman-Laux ranked last with 1% of the vote. ;1996 DioGuardi challenged Kelly in a rematch in 1996 and lost again 53%-42%. He ran in the general election on the lines of the Conservative Party and the Right-to-Life Party. He got 12% in third place, while Kelly won re-election with 46% of the vote. ;2000 (U.S. Senate) In 2000 DioGuardi launched a bid to run as the

challenger for the 2000 Senate race as a consequence of

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...

not running on the line. Giuliani was asked to renounce his Liberal Party endorsement, which he refused to do, hence the decision of Conservative Party Chairman

Mike Long Michael Long is a former professional Magic: The Gathering player who was a high-profile figure on the Pro Tour in its formative years. ''Magic: The Gathering'' ''Magic: The Gathering'' was released in 1993 and a Pro Tour launched the fol ...

to initiate DioGuardi's campaign. DioGuardi ended this bid after Giuliani ended his campaign, and the Conservative line was given to Congressman Rick Lazio, the new Republican candidate. ;2008 After Democrat

John Hall John Hall may refer to: Academics * John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic * John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal * John F. Hall (born 1951), professor of classics at Brigham Young Unive ...

defeated Kelly in 2006, DioGuardi decided to run against Hall in 2008. In May 2008, Republicans held a convention in Mahopac, New York, with delegates from each of the five counties to endorse a candidate and nominate their candidate. Kieran Michael Lalor won the convention vote with 46% of the vote, while DioGuardi finished last with 13% of the vote.It’s Lalor against Hall in the 19th Congressional District
".
Mid-Hudson News
'. May 23, 2008.

Tenure

He was the original author of the Chief Financial Officer and Federal Financial Reform Act (

CFO Act The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and finan ...

), signed by President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

in 1990. The act mandated the assignment of a

Chief Financial Officer The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...

to each major department and agency of the U.S. government. Former Comptroller General of the United States Charles Bowsher later said in testimony before the U.S. Senate that since the enactment of the bill, "We have seen important progress in directly confronting serious financial management weaknesses." Of the 1.55 million Black American military servicemen, not one had received the Medal of Honor. DioGuardi and Democratic Congressman Mickey Leland initiated legislation to confer the honor on Black World War I and World War II military heroes who had been recommended for, but had not received, the medal. Nine Medals of Honor have since been awarded.

Committee assignments

DioGuardi was an active member of the executive committee of the

Congressional Human Rights Caucus The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (formerly known as the Congressional Human Rights Caucus) is a bipartisan caucus of the United States House of Representatives. Its stated mission is "to promote, defend and advocate internationally recogniz ...

(CHRC) and worked with Caucus founder Tom Lantos (D-CA) on apartheid in South Africa, and on the repression of Jews in the Soviet Union and the Tibetan people and monks in China.

Caucus memberships

He founded and co-chaired the Congressional Long Island Sound and Hudson River Caucuses, which secured substantial increases in federal support. He co-founded with Congressman Jerrold Nadler the New York Task Force for Port, Rail and Industrial Development in order to restore lost jobs to New York's manufacturing and transportation sectors and preserve a portion of the Port of New York on the New York side of the harbor.

Albanian American Civic League

In the mid-1980s, Dioguardi along with a handful of Albanian-American businessmen founded the Albanian lobby, culminating in the establishment of the Albanian American Civic League (AACL) in January 1989. The lobby raised the issue of Albanian rights in Yugoslavia to the attention of U.S. policy makers in Washington. Under Dioguardi's leadership, the AACL raised millions of dollars, arranged demonstrations, testified and passed resolutions in Congress promoting the issue of Kosovo Albanians, putting pressure on U.S. administrations. Dioguardi's influence over the Albanian American lobby later diminished with the formation of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). Some former members of the Civic League defected to the LDK, citing Dioguardi's behavior and style. According to them, Dioguardi "hangs onto the Civic League in order to promote his own thinly veiled political ambitions" and "demand that everything go through him, even the demonstrations". Still, political analyst

Paul Hockenos Paul Hockenos (born 1963) is a Berlin- and New York–based writer and political analyst who has been working in Germany and across Central and Eastern Europe since 1989."Paul Hockenos." ''Contemporary Authors Online'', Detroit: Gale, 2010. Retrieve ...

noted in 2003 that "Dioguardi and the Albanian lobby as a whole still pack a formidable punch, even after the dust of the wars has settled. Its sustained activity is something the other diaspora lobbies, those associated with the former Yugoslavia, no longer muster. In contrast, they are spent forces." The AACL is run by Dioguardi and his second wife who also serves as "Balkan Affairs Adviser".

Post-congressional career

Non-profit organization

In 1989, DioGuardi founded a non-profit organization that is known as Truth in Government. According to its website, "the mission of Truth in Government is to strengthen our country's financial foundation by promoting accountability and transparency in Congressional spending and reporting."

Book

In 1992, DioGuardi authored the book ''Unaccountable Congress: It Doesn't Add Up'', published by Regnery. The book was re-released in 2010 with a new introduction that claimed to explain the chronology of events leading to the financial crisis of 2008.

2010 U.S. Senate election

On March 16, 2010, DioGuardi announced at Grand Central Terminal in New York City that he was seeking the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by incumbent Democratic senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Gillibrand had been appointed to the seat by Gov. Paterson after it was vacated by Hillary Clinton. DioGuardi pledged to raise over in his campaign. He secured the nomination for U.S. Senate from the

Conservative Party of New York The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party founded in 1962 following conservative dissatisfaction with the Republican Party in New York. Running on the Conservative Party line, James L. Buckley won election to the U ...

on May 28, 2010, but did not secure enough votes from the New York Republican party contingencies at their state convention on June 2 to appear on the Republican line in the New York primary race on September 14. On August 9, the New York Board of Elections officially certified DioGuardi's qualification for the September 14th GOP primary. During the campaign, DioGuardi attracted some press attention for his advocacy of Albanian rights and his claim that without his efforts, there would be no independent Kosovo. DioGuardi narrowly defeated

David Malpass David Robert Malpass (born March 8, 1956) is an American economic analyst and former government official serving as President of the World Bank Group since 2019. Malpass previously served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affa ...

in the primary election (with Bruce Blakeman finishing distant third), securing the Republican line in the general election. He also, after the primary, secured the line of the nascent Taxpayers Party of New York when Malpass stepped aside. Prior to the election, DioGuardi was linked to a Ponzi scheme by the SEC. From 2007 to 2009, the former Westchester Republican congressman was paid a month as a consultant for the subsidiary Medical Capital Corp. – and also got a year to sit on boards of various other MCH subsidiaries. DioGuardi said he was oblivious to any wrongdoing. "As a consultant, Joe was tasked with saving hospitals in New York from being shut down, but knew nothing of the schemes that were occurring behind the scenes," said his spokesman Brian Hummell, adding that his boss "has never seen the books." DioGuardi lost the general election to Gillibrand, 63.0% to 35.1%.

Personal life

DioGuardi lives in

Ossining, New York Ossining may refer to: * Ossining (town), New York, a town in Westchester County, New York state *Ossining (village), New York, a village in the town of Ossining * Ossining High School, a comprehensive public high school in Ossining village * Ossi ...

, with his wife, Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi. His first wife, Carol, died in 1997 of ovarian cancer. His son John is a counselor at the Phoenix House, a national non-profit drug treatment organization on whose board Joseph has served since 1972. His daughter Kara DioGuardi is a songwriter and artist who has appeared as a judge on the '' American Idol'' show, and has also been involved in Phoenix House.

References

Books

External links

People for DioGuardi
– official campaign website
USA Former Members of Congress profileJoseph Dioguardi
DioGuardi family website.
DioGuardi and Cloyes get Kosovo Bill HR 36 introduced early in the 110th Congress
* ttps://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0717F7385F0C708DDDA80994D0484D81&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fOrganizations%2fR%2fRepublican%20Party Lowey Victory: Anatomy Of an Upsetbr>Kelly Defeats DioGuardi In Republican Primary
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dioguardi, Joseph J. 1940 births American people of Arbëreshë descent American people of Italian descent Living people Knights of Malta Fordham Preparatory School alumni Fordham University alumni Politicians from the Bronx Politicians from New Rochelle, New York Politicians from Westchester County, New York Conservative Party of New York State politicians Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)