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 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 represented Staten Island 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. 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 Richmond County may refer to places: Australia *Richmond County, New South Wales, a cadastral division Canada *Richmond County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Richmondshire, the original Richmond County in Yorkshire, England United States ...

in the New York State Assembly 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 Staten Island 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 year ...

degree from Staten Island's

Wagner College Wagner College is a private liberal arts college in Staten Island, New York City. Founded in 1883 and with an enrollment of approximately 2,200 students, Wagner is known for its academic program, The Wagner Plan for the Practical Liberal Arts. It ...

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 E ...

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 combi ...

(attaining the rank of sergeant), from 1951 to 1953 during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. 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 New York State Assembly 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. Backgrou ...

s. He was a delegate to the New York State Republican conventions in 1979 and the Republican National Convention in both 1980 and 1984. In 1980, he was elected to the House of Representatives, unseating nine-term Democrat John M. Murphy. The district included all of Staten Island and most of Lower Manhattan. 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 Staten Island. He was succeeded in the House by his daughter, Susan, who also served on the New York City Council. 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. 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 ...

'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 d ...

'' called his remarks "gutter politics". In 1995, Molinari ran for Richmond County District Attorney. 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 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 to run for mayor of NYC, Giuliani's push for Molinari to run for Staten Island'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 landfil ...

, "the largest .. in the world."

Personal life

Guy Molinari's daughter Susan 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 severi ...

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. ar ...

'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