Thomas Stephen Gulotta (April 27, 1944 – August 4, 2019) was an American

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician from

Nassau County, New York Nassau County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. At the 2020 U.S. census, Nassau County's population is 1,395,774. The county seat is Mineola and the largest town is Hempstead. Nassau County is situated on western Long Isl ...

who was the

county executive A county executive, county manager or county mayor is the head of the executive branch of government in a United States county. The executive may be an elected or an appointed position. When elected, the executive typically functions either as a ...

of Nassau from 1987 to 2001.

Early life

Gulotta was born in

Oceanside, New York Oceanside is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the southern part of the town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 32,109 at the 2010 census. History Originally known as South Bay, the En ...

on April 27, 1944, the son of Josephine and Frank Gulotta, Sr. His father was a former Nassau County district attorney and former

New York State Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

judge. The younger Gulotta was raised on Long Island and attended Malverne High School, where he was student president. He graduated from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, and earned a law degree from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

in 1969.

Career

Gulotta was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1977 to 1981, sitting in the 182nd, 183rd and

184th New York State Legislature The 184th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7, 1981, to December 31, 1982, during the seventh and eighth years of Hugh Carey's governorship, in Albany. Backg ...

. He represented a district that included his hometown of

Merrick, New York Merrick is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. , the population was 20,130. Geography According to the United States Census Bu ...

until 1981 when he was selected to become the presiding supervisor of the town of Hempstead, succeeding

Al D'Amato Alfonse Marcello D'Amato (born August 1, 1937) is an American politician born in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York. He served as United States Senator for New York between 1981 and 1999. He subsequently founded a lobbying firm, Park Strategies. ...

, who had been elected to the

United States 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 pow ...

. He was re-elected to the position in 1983. In January 1987, Gulotta was appointed county executive by the county's board of supervisors, and was elected to a full term in November 1987. He opted not to run for a fifth term in 2001, after having won 11 straight elections. His successor was Democrat

Thomas Suozzi Thomas Richard Suozzi (; born August 31, 1962) is an American politician, attorney and accountant who served as the U.S. Representative for from 2017 to 2023. His district included part of the North Shore of Long Island. A member of the Democ ...

. Gulotta later founded Executive Strategies, a consulting firm, and joined the law firm of Shaw, Licitra, Bohner, Eserino, Schwartz & Pfluger in

Mineola, New York Mineola is a village in and the county seat of Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from an Algonquin Chief, Miniolagamika, which means "pleasant village". ...

, and was named a partner of the firm in 2004. At the time of his death in 2019 Gulotta was a special counsel at Albanese & Albanese, LLP, a law firm in Garden City, New York.

Personal life

Gulotta married Elizabeth Abbott Fryatt; they had two living children. Thomas Gulotta died on August 4, 2019 at the age of 75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gulotta, Thomas S. Trinity College (Connecticut) alumni Columbia Law School alumni Nassau County Executives Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly 1944 births 2019 deaths People from Oceanside, New York People from Merrick, New York New York (state) lawyers Malverne High School alumni 20th-century American lawyers