James Joseph Lanzetta () (December 21, 1894 – October 27, 1956) was an engineer, an attorney and a politician, a member of 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 ...

from New York (1933-1935) and 1937–1939), and a justice in city court. He was appointed as a legislative representative for the government of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

in Washington, DC. After that he served as a city magistrate in New York, and in 1947 was appointed as a justice to the Domestic Relations Court, where he served until his death.

Early life and education

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, he attended its public schools. He graduated from the

Columbia University School of Engineering The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (popularly known as SEAS or Columbia Engineering; previously known as Columbia School of Mines) is the engineering and applied science school of Columbia University. It was founded as th ...

in 1917. He later enrolled in

Fordham University School of Law Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. In 2013, 91% of the law school's first-time test t ...

, where he graduated in 1924.

Military service

Lanzetta joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

for

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a private in Company C, 302nd Engineers, and he was later a sergeant first class in the 1st Air Service Mechanics Regiment. Lanzetta served overseas from February 1918 to July 1919.

Career

He worked as an engineer and salesman in New York City from 1919 to 1922, and as an assistant supervisor in the city's Department of Markets from 1922 to 1925. He was admitted to the bar in 1925 and commenced practice in New York City.

Political career

Active in politics as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he served on the Board of Aldermen from January 1932 to March 1933.

Congress

With the help of the

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

boss

Jimmy Hines James J. Hines (December 29, 1903 – May 11, 1986) was an American professional golfer. Hines was born in Mineola, New York. He won nine times on the PGA Tour and was selected to the 1939 Ryder Cup team but the event was cancelled due to World ...

,Stolberg, Mary M. ''Fighting Organised Crime: Politics, Justice, and the Legacy of Thomas E. Dewey'' (1995) pg. 229 Lanzetta was elected as a

to the 73rd Congress. He defeated the incumbent Congressman

Fiorello H. La Guardia Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City fro ...

. He represented the 20th district (then East Harlem) and served from March 4, 1933 to January 3, 1935. In 1934, in a close race with

Vito Marcantonio Vito is an Italian name that is derived from the Latin word "''vita''", meaning "life". It is a modern form of the Latin name Vitus, meaning "life-giver," as in San Vito or Saint Vitus, the patron saint of dogs and a heroic figure in southern I ...

, he lost his bid for re-election to the

74th Congress The 74th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1935, ...

. In 1936, he won back his seat in the 75th Congress (causing Marcantonio to suffer his first defeat in what became a long Congressional career), serving from January 3, 1937 to January 3, 1939. He ran again in 1938 and 1940, losing both times to Marcantonio, who by then had switched to the

American Labor Party The American Labor Party (ALP) was a political party in the United States established in 1936 that was active almost exclusively in the state of New York. The organization was founded by labor leaders and former members of the Socialist Party of A ...

Later career

After Lanzetta's 1938 defeat for re-election, he was appointed as legislative representative or counsel for Puerto Rico in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Although he had never visited the island, he proved popular with its political leaders of all parties and with the residents of Puerto Rico. Lanzetta later resumed the practice of law. On July 2, 1947, Mayor

William O'Dwyer William O'Dwyer (July 11, 1890November 24, 1964) was an Irish-American politician and diplomat who served as the 100th Mayor of New York City, holding that office from 1946 to 1950. Life and career O'Dwyer was born in Bohola, County Mayo, Ir ...

appointed him as city magistrate of New York City to fill a vacancy; later that month he was appointed to a full ten-year term. As the result of a one-day shortage of magistrates in March 1948, Lanzetta attracted notice by presiding in five courts in five hours and disposing of 500 cases, 400 of which were in the Downtown Traffic Court. He served as city magistrate until May 26, 1948, when Mayor O'Dwyer appointed him to a ten-year term as a justice of the city Domestic Relations Court. He served in this capacity until his death in New York City in 1956.

Death

He died on the night of October 27, 1956, while visiting the Greystone Hotel on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery,

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, New York.

References

Notes Sources *"James Lanzetta, Justice, 61, Dead"; ''The New York Times'', October 29, 1956. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lanzetta, James J. 1894 births 1956 deaths Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni Fordham University School of Law alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) New York (state) state court judges United States Army personnel of World War I New York (state) lawyers Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) 20th-century American judges 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers American people of Italian descent