Victor L'Episcopo Anfuso (March 10, 1905 – December 28, 1966) was an American lawyer,

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

veteran, and politician who served five terms as a Democratic member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

from 1951 to 1953, then again from 1955 to 1963.

Biography

Born in

Gagliano Castelferrato Gagliano Castelferrato (Latin: Galaria; Sicilian: ''Gagghianu'') is a ''comune'' in Sicily, Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, the son of Salvatore Anfuso and Mariannina L'Episcopo, he immigrated to the United States in 1914. He attended

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and graduated from

Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a Private university, private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and adjunct faculty. ...

in 1927. He married Frances Stallone on June 15, 1930.

Career

Anfuso served in the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed 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 ...

in the

Mediterranean Theatre of World War II The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eu ...

from 1943 until 1945. He was elected to Congress in 1950 and served from January 3, 1951, until January 3, 1953. He was city magistrate of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

from February 1954 until his resignation in July 1954, when he was elected to Congress again and served from January 3, 1955, until January 3, 1963. Elected to the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

in 1962, Anfuso served in that capacity until his death. Anfuso appeared in the first segment of ''

To Tell the Truth ''To Tell the Truth'' is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the "team of challengers", each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual ...

'', March 5, 1957, as an imposter of President Dwight Eisenhower's personal barber, Steve Martini.

Death

Anfuso suffered a heart attack during a meeting at the Warwick Hotel, and died soon after in Manhattan, New York, on December 28, 1966 (age 61 years, 293 days). He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...

at St. John Cemetery,

Middle Village, Queens Middle Village is a neighborhood in the central section of the Borough (New York City), borough of Queens, New York City, bounded to the north by the Long Island Expressway, to the east by Woodhaven Boulevard, to the south by Cooper Avenue and t ...

References

External links

Victor L. Anfuso Papers
at th
Center for Migration Studies of New York
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anfuso, Victor L. 1905 births 1966 deaths Italian emigrants to the United States Politicians from Brooklyn Brooklyn Law School alumni Columbia University alumni People of the Office of Strategic Services New York Supreme Court justices Burials at St. John's Cemetery (Queens) Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 20th-century New York state court judges 20th-century New York (state) politicians 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives