Bill Palatucci

William J. Palatucci (born 1958) is an American attorney and Republican National Committeeman. Palatucci was the White House Transition Coordinator and General Counsel for the 2016 presidential transition of Donald Trump until terminated on November 11, 2016.

Palatucci has served as the Finance Chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Committee and acted as a senior advisor for the 2000 presidential campaign of George W. Bush. He has also worked for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. He retains a close personal and professional association with Governor Chris Christie, serving as the Chairman of Christie's 2013 re-election campaign and Co-Chair of his 2010 and 2014 Inaugural Committees. He serves as counsel to the Leadership Matters for America PAC.

Palatucci is currently a partner at the law firm McCarter & English. Co-creating ''The Battling Bills'' with William J. Pascrell, Palatucci was nominated for Outstanding Talk Program Series at the 2005 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards. Palatucci currently serves on the National Advisory Board of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University.

Early life and education

Palatucci was born in New Jersey to an Italian Catholic family of five children. Next door to their family home, his father operated Frank's Tavern in the Haskell section of Wanaque Borough, New Jersey. During World War II, Frank Palatucci chaired the ration board of Pompton Lakes, New Jersey'' with his father and observing the blue-collar patrons of his father's bar.

Following a speech at Rutgers University, Thomas Kean hired then-senior Bill Palatucci as a chauffeur during his campaign for the 1981 New Jersey gubernatorial election. After serving as Kean's reelection campaign manager for the 1985 gubernatorial election, Bill earned his J.D. from the Seton Hall University School of Law in 1989.

Career

Politics and Law

Bill Palatucci's relationship as Chris Christie's "right hand" began with joint work on Christine Todd Whiman's unsuccessful campaign in the 1990 United States Senate election in New Jersey, continuing with Christie recruiting Palatucci to his law firm Dughi & Hewit in 1993. Leading its government affairs practice, Palatucci became a partner of the firm in 2001. Their close relationship has been emphasized by Christie's frequent hugging of Palatucci, despite the latter's aversion to being touched. During the 1992 United States presidential election, Palatucci served as executive-director of the Bush-Quayle campaign in New Jersey, unsuccessful at the state and national levels. In 2002, Palatucci's recommendation to Karl Rove, Senior Advisor to then-President George W. Bush, supported Christie being nominated to serve as United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey. Palatucci served as chairman of Christie's successful 2013 reelection campaign for Governor of New Jersey.

In November 2010, Palatucci was nominated to serve on the New Jersey Apportionment Commission, redrawing legislative and congressional districts based on the demographic information of the 2010 United States census. From 2005 to 2008, Palatucci served as Chairman of Westfield, New Jersey, Palatucci was one of four informally designated "whips" on the party's rules committee who had been tapped by the Donald Trump campaign to quash a possible insurrection by the Never Trump movement. With Chris Christie initially leading the 2016 presidential transition of Donald Trump, Palatucci served as White House Transition Coordinator and General Counsel until both were terminated on November 11, 2016.

Among his significant donations to political campaigns, Palatucci has generally supported Republican candidates running for New Jersey and federal offices. In 2010, Palatucci was elected to the Republican National Committee.

In August 2020, following eight years working at Gibbons P.C., Palatucci joined the law firm McCarter & English.

Halfway Home Controversy

Palatucci served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Public Affiars at Community Education Centers (CEC), a nonprofit organization operating halfway homes to reintegrate those with criminal backgrounds through partially supervised housing. Leveraging his close relationship with then-governor Chris Christie, Palatucci successfully lobbied the state to provide financial aid and divert inmates from public prisons, despite lacking statutory authority. The scheme involved CEC donating to politicians like Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, convincing them to award government contracts to its non-profit affiliate Education and Health Centers of America (EHCA) in avoidance of New Jersey's "pay-to-play" regulations. In 2010, CEC's political contributions were at $110,000. A 2012 lawsuit filed by two law enforcement unions alleged that CEC placed inmates at risk of violence and drug use.

In 2011, New Jersey's state comptroller issued a report highlighting that about half of the state's $62M half-way home contracts were held by EHCA. Avoiding mandates that state-funded halfway homes be operated by non-profits, contracts awarded to EHCA had their financial returns diverted to CEC executives.

An investigation by ''The New York Times'' connected Palatucci's lobbying for CEC to Christie’s 2010 state budget increasing funding for halfway homes by $3.1 million to $64.6 million. Following this media criticism, Palatucci stepped down from CEC in 2012.

On May 18, 2009, after only two days at Essex County's CEC-operated Delaney Hall, Derek West Harris was murdered by three other inmates. The state was criticized for sentencing one of the killers to life in prison, while clearing Delaney Hall officials of any wrongdoing despite the gang-controlled environment fostering violence.

Personal life

Palatucci is married and has three daughters. Palatucci's wife, Laura, supported Rudy Giuliani's failed bid in the 2008 Republican Party presidential primaries.

From 2015 to 2021, Palatucci served on the Seton Hall University School of Law's Board of Visitors. He is currently a member of the National Advisory Board of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University.

Awards and recognition

* From 2011 through 2017, Palatucci was named one of the "100 Most Powerful People in New Jersey Business" by ''NJBIZ'' magazine
* In 2014, Seton Hall University's School of Law named Palatucci as a "Distinguished Alumnus"
* In 2015, Palatucci received the "Good Guy Award" from the Women's Political Caucus of New Jersey

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palatucci, Bill
1958 births
Living people
American people of Italian descent
American political consultants
New Jersey Republicans
People from Wanaque, New Jersey
People from Westfield, New Jersey
Rutgers University alumni
Seton Hall University School of Law alumni
Catholics from New Jersey