Gaetano Victor Molinari (November 23, 1928July 25, 2018) was an American lawyer and

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

New York city New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He represented

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for four terms (1981–1989) and then served 12 years as Staten Island borough president (1990–2002). His daughter,

Susan Molinari Susan Molinari (born March 27, 1958) is an American politician, company executive, journalist and lobbyist from New York. A member of the Republican Party, she sat in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1990 to 1997, representing Staten Island ...

, also served as a U.S. Representative.

Education and military service

Gaetano Kenneth Molinari, "who changed his middle name as a teenager to Victor" was born on Manhattan's

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

. His father was S. Robert Molinari (1897–1957), "the first Italian immigrant to serve in the New York state Assembly," representing the 2nd District of Richmond County in the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

from 1943 to 1944. After changing from a Republican to a Democrat, Molinari's father was not reelected. His mother, Elizabeth Margaret (Majoros), was of Czechoslovakian descent. Molinari attended private schools growing up and graduated from

New Dorp High School New Dorp High School, commonly referred to as New Dorp or NDHS, is a public school in New Dorp on the East Shore of the New York City borough of Staten Island in the New Dorp neighborhood. The school is administered by the New York City Departme ...

in 1945. He attained a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree from Staten Island's Wagner College in 1949 and his law degree from

New York Law School New York Law School (NYLS) is a private law school in Tribeca, New York City. NYLS has a full-time day program and a part-time evening program. NYLS's faculty includes 54 full-time and 59 adjunct professors. Notable faculty members include ...

in 1951. He served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through c ...

(attaining the rank of

sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other ...

), from 1951 to 1953 during the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

. He was admitted to the

New York State Bar The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice; ...

following his discharge from the military in 1953 and commenced practice in Staten Island.

Political career

Molinari was a

member of the

from 1975 to 1980, sitting in the 181st, 182nd and

183rd New York State Legislature The 183rd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3, 1979, to December 31, 1980, during the fifth and sixth years of Hugh Carey's governorship, in Albany. Backgroun ...

s. He was a delegate to the New York State Republican conventions in 1979 and the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

in both 1980 and 1984. In 1980, he was elected to the House of Representatives, unseating nine-term Democrat

John M. Murphy John Michael Murphy (August 3, 1926 – May 25, 2015) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 16th (1963–1973) and 17th (1973–1981) districts. He was convicted of taking bribes in the 1980 Abscam scanda ...

. The district included all of

and most of

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

. In 1982, his district lost its share of Manhattan, and was instead merged with a

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 ...

-based district that was held by four-term Democrat Leo Zeferetti. Molinari defeated Zeferetti won with 57%. He was reelected to the three succeeding Congresses with minimal opposition and served from January 3, 1981, until his resignation December 31, 1989, to become Borough President of

. He was succeeded in the House by his daughter,

Susan Susan is a feminine given name, from Persian "Susan" (lily flower), from Egyptian '' sšn'' and Coptic ''shoshen'' meaning "lotus flower", from Hebrew ''Shoshana'' meaning "lily" (in modern Hebrew this also means "rose" and a flower in general), ...

, who also served on the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government model, the performance of ...

. He served as Borough President from January 1, 1990, to December 31, 2001. In 1994, a week before the statewide elections, Molinari announced his view that

Karen Burstein Karen S. Burstein (born July 20, 1942) is an American Democratic Party politician, attorney, civil servant, and former judge from the State of New York. She served in the New York State Senate, worked in the administration of Gov. Mario Cuomo, ...

, the Democratic nominee for

New York Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government o ...

, was not qualified to serve as attorney general because she was a

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

. The combination of Molinari's remarks, a strong national Republican showing, and the win of

George Pataki George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. An attorney by profession, Pataki was elected mayor of his hometown of Peekskill, New York, and went on ...

in the governor's race, led to Republican

Dennis Vacco Dennis C. Vacco (born August 16, 1952) is an American lawyer and Republican Party politician. He graduated with a B.A. from Colgate University in 1974, a J.D. from the University at Buffalo Law School in 1978, and was admitted to the New York ...

's narrowly defeating Burstein. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called his remarks "gutter politics". In 1995, Molinari ran for

Richmond County District Attorney The Richmond County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for Richmond County, coterminous with the Borough of Staten Island, in New York City. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws, as vi ...

. He lost the race to Democratic incumbent,

William L. Murphy William Leo Murphy (June 25, 1944 – June 4, 2010) was the Richmond County District Attorney (in Staten Island, New York) from 1983 to 2003. Early life and education Murphy was born in Chicago. His parents were originally from Staten Island an ...

A Life of Service (book)

Molinaro co-authored his autobiography A Life of Service with former NYC Police Lt. -Kossman, a "highly decorated cop, who is also a lawyer and a registered nurse." Feerick, after five years of appeals, began to serve her sentence for having illegally searched for a stolen police radio. With a search warrant still pending, she launched a technically legal "random .. door-to-door" search that, in being carried out, went beyond legal bounds. Feerick-Kossman, a mother with husband Joseph Kossman of two sons, the second seven weeks old, entered

Rikers Island Rikers Island is a island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx that contains New York City's main jail complex. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was originally under in size, but has ...

jail. Molinari successfully "lobbied Gov. George Pataki to commute her sentence" and she was released a month later. Her law license was returned in 2000. The book, whose start can be traced to Feerick's pushing, discusses Molinari's success at convincing a then age 44

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 19 ...

to run for mayor of NYC, Giuliani's push for Molinari to run for

's Boro President, and the (2001) closing of

Fresh Kills Landfill The Fresh Kills Landfill was a landfill covering in the New York City borough of Staten Island in the United States. The name comes from the landfill's location along the banks of the Fresh Kills estuary in western Staten Island. The landf ...

, "the largest .. in the world."

Personal life

Guy Molinari's daughter

succeeded him as a member of Congress. She is married to

Bill Paxon Leon William Paxon (born April 29, 1954) is an American lobbyist and former member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. Early life Paxon was born in Akron, New York, near Buffalo. At the age of 15, Paxon volunteered fo ...

, a former United States House Representative from Buffalo.

Death and legacy

After spending his final years in his home in Bay Terrace, Guy Molinari died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

on July 25, 2018, at the age of 89. In September 2003, a new

Staten Island Ferry The Staten Island Ferry is a passenger ferry route operated by the New York City Department of Transportation. The ferry's single route runs through New York Harbor between the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Staten Island, with ferry ...

boat was built and was christened the ''Guy V. Molinari''; it joined the

New York City Department of Transportation The New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) is the agency of the government of New York City responsible for the management of much of New York City's transportation infrastructure. Ydanis Rodriguez is the Commissioner of the Depart ...

fleet in September 2004, a year later. The boat continues to transport commuters and tourists between Staten Island and Manhattan.

James S. A. Corey James S. A. Corey is the pen name used by collaborators Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, authors of the science fiction series '' The Expanse''. The first and last name are taken from Abraham's and Franck's middle names, respectively, and S. A. a ...

's novel ''

Leviathan Wakes ''Leviathan Wakes'' is a science fiction novel by James S. A. Corey, the pen name of American writers Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. It is the first book in the ''Expanse'' series, followed by ''Caliban's War'' (2012), ''Abaddon's Gate'' (2013) ...

'' and its television adaptation, ''The Expanse'', featured a spaceship named for Molinari.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Molinari, Guy 1928 births 2018 deaths 20th-century American politicians Staten Island borough presidents Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly American politicians of Italian descent United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War United States Marines New York Law School alumni Military personnel from New York City Wagner College alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Politicians from Staten Island New Dorp High School alumni Politicians from Manhattan American people of Czechoslovak descent Deaths from pneumonia in New York City