Joseph P. Lordi (June 28, 1919 – October 21, 1983) was an American law enforcement official who served as the

Essex County, New Jersey Essex County is located in the northeastern part of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 863,728, making it the state's second-most populous county, behind Bergen and Middlesex Counties.

prosecutor and as the first Chairman of the

New Jersey Casino Control Commission The Casino Control Commission is a New Jersey state governmental agency that was founded in 1977 as the state's Gaming Control Board, responsible under the Casino Control Act for licensing casinos in Atlantic City. The commission also issues lic ...

. Lordi was a counterespionage agent for the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...

in Europe during World War II. He later graduated from

Rutgers School of Law–Newark Rutgers Law School is the law school of Rutgers University, with classrooms in Newark and Camden, New Jersey. It is the largest public law school and the 10th largest law school, overall, in the United States. Each class in the three-year J.D. pr ...

Legal career

Lordi served as Deputy Attorney General of New Jersey under Gov.

Robert Meyner Robert Baumle Meyner (July 3, 1908 – May 27, 1990) was an American Democratic Party politician and attorney who served as the 44th governor of New Jersey from 1954 to 1962. Before being elected governor, Meyner represented Warren County in th ...

and was an Assistant Essex County Prosecutor from 1959 to 1964. Gov.

Richard J. Hughes Richard Joseph Hughes (August 10, 1909December 7, 1992) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge. A Democrat, he served as the 45th governor of New Jersey from 1962 to 1970, and as Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1973 to ...

named him as Director of the New Jersey Alcoholic Beverage Commission, and in 1968 as the Essex County Prosecutor, replacing

Brendan Byrne Brendan Thomas Byrne (April 1, 1924 – January 4, 2018) was an American politician, statesman, and prosecutor, serving as the 47th governor of New Jersey from 1974 to 1982. A member of the Democratic Party, Byrne started his career as a privat ...

. He spent nine years in that post, where he grew in prominence for his prosecution of organized crime figures and corrupt public officials. Byrne named him as the first New Jersey Casino Control Commission Chairman, and he was sworn in on September 6, 1977. He served until 1981.

Family

Lordi's brother,

James Lordi James P. Lordi (December 1, 1910 – June 1985) was an American Democratic Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly. A lawyer and former executive secretary to Newark Mayor Ralph A. Villani, Lordi was elected to the Assembl ...

, served in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

. His daughter, Linda Lordi Cavanaugh, served as an Essex County Freeholder.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lordi, Joseph P. 1919 births 1983 deaths American prosecutors Members of American gaming commissions New Jersey lawyers New Jersey Democrats People of the Office of Strategic Services People from Essex County, New Jersey People from Spring Lake Heights, New Jersey 20th-century American lawyers