Sido Louis Ridolfi (September 28, 1913 – May 9, 2004) was an American

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician who served in the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...

from 1954 to 1972, serving as Senate President in 1967.

Early life

Ridolfi was born in 1913 in Trenton, New Jersey. He attended

Trenton Central High School Trenton Central High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Trenton, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Trenton Public Schools. As ...

and graduated from Princeton University in 1936, where he majored in politics. He graduated from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1939.

Senate and gubernatorial staff

In 1941 Ridolfi was appointed Secretary to the

Minority Leader. He served as a legislative advisor to Governor Charles Edison from 1941 to 1942. He left his post to join the United States Coast Guard in World War II.

Local and county elected offices

In 1947 he was elected Sheriff of

Mercer County, New Jersey Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its county seat is Trenton, also the state capital, but also directly borders the Philadelphia metropolitan area and is included within the Federal Communications Commission's ...

. He was elected City Commissioner of Trenton in 1951, reelected in 1955. He was first elected to the State Senate in 1953, defeating Assistant Mercer County Prosecutor

Arthur Stephen Lane Arthur Stephen Lane (December 26, 1910 – October 23, 1997) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Education and career Born in Arlington, Massachusetts, Lane received a Bachelor ...

. Ridolfi and Lane had attended Princeton and Harvard Law at the same time. He was re-elected in 1957, 1961, 1965 and 1967. In 1967 he served as Senate President and Acting Governor. Prior to 1966, he represented Mercer County in the Senate; in 1965 he was elected to the new 6th Legislative District which coincidentally encompassed all of Mercer County. In the 1967 election, Ridolfi was elected to one of two

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

Senate seats in the 6th district, also elected was Democrat

Richard J. Coffee Richard J. Coffee (February 14, 1925 – February 19, 2017) was an American Democratic Party politician from New Jersey who served in the New Jersey Senate and as chairman of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee. Biography Coffee was born in ...

Alleged ties to organized crime

In December 1968, Assistant New Jersey Attorney General William Brennan III (son of

Supreme Court Associate Justice An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is any member of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1 ...

William J. Brennan, Jr. William Joseph "Bill" Brennan Jr. (April 25, 1906 – July 24, 1997) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1956 to 1990. He was the List of United States Supreme Cou ...

) gave a speech alleging that three incumbent state legislators were "entirely too comfortable with organized crime." The legislators were later revealed to be Ridolfi and Assemblymen

David Friedland David Joel Friedland (December 20, 1937 – April 21, 2022) was an American lawyer and Democratic Party politician from Hudson County, who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1966 to 1974 and then was elected to the Senate, serving f ...

and John A. Selecky. Ridolfi was accused of assisting in the purchase of a house for

John Simone John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

(aka "Johnny Keys"), a Philadelphia capo and cousin of mob boss

Angelo Bruno Angelo Bruno (born Angelo Annaloro; ; (May 21, 1910 – March 21, 1980) was a Sicilian Americans, Sicilian-American mobster, notable for being boss of the Philadelphia crime family for two decades until his assassination. Bruno was known as "the ...

. He was also accused of land dealings with Edmund Bralynski (aka "Big Brownie"), identified by state law enforcement officials as "a top rackets figure in Trenton." On January 14, 1969, a special legislative investigating committee expressed "disapproval" of Ridolfi and Selecky. The committee reported, "While Senator Ridolfi has done nothing illegal, his actions have reflected adversely on the Legislature."

Later life

Ridolfi retired from the Senate to continue his private legal practice, and after redistricting the 6th district was split into two separate seats. He died on May 9, 2004 at the age of 90 at Rosehill Assisted Living in Robbinsville Township, New Jersey.

References

External links

Sido L. Ridolfi
at The Political Graveyard {{DEFAULTSORT:Ridolfi, Sido L. 1913 births 2004 deaths Politicians from Trenton, New Jersey Trenton Central High School alumni People from Robbinsville Township, New Jersey Princeton University alumni Harvard Law School alumni United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II New Jersey sheriffs New Jersey lawyers Democratic Party New Jersey state senators Presidents of the New Jersey Senate 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers