Anthony S. Seminerio (February 15, 1935 – January 6, 2011) was an American politician 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 * ...

Life

Seminerio graduated from the

New York Institute of Technology The New York Institute of Technology (NYIT or New York Tech) is a Private university, private research university, research university founded in 1955. It has two main campuses in New York (state), New York—one in Old Westbury, on Long I ...

with a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

. Then he became a corrections officer. He was an executive board member representing the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association where he engaged in negotiations that forced him to travel between

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and the state capital of

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

. In addition to being the

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and labour rights, rights for ...

negotiator for members of the Dept. of Corrections Seminerio also served as the founder and treasurer of the New York State Peace Officers Association. He was a member of 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 1979 to 2009, sitting in the 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th, 189th, 190th,

191st 191st may refer to: *191st (Southern Alberta) Battalion, CEF, a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War *191st Air Refueling Squadron, a unit of the Utah Air National Guard *191st Airlift Group, an airlift unit located a ...

, 192nd, 193rd, 194th, 195th, 196th, 197th and

198th New York State Legislature The 198th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7, 2009, to December 31, 2010, during the later part of David Paterson's governorship, in Albany. On June 8, 2009 ...

s. He represented the neighborhoods of

Richmond Hill, Queens Richmond Hill is a commercial and residential neighborhood located in the southeastern section of the New York City borough of Queens. The area borders Kew Gardens and Forest Park to the north, Jamaica and South Jamaica to the east, South Ozo ...

and

Glendale, Queens Glendale is a neighborhood in the west-central portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Queens. It is bounded by Forest Hills, Queens, Forest Hills to the east, Ridgewood, Queens, Ridgewood to the west, Woodhaven, Queens, ...

. As a member of the New York Assembly, he was one of the more conservative members of the New York City delegation. He opposed abortions, supported capital punishment, and took a tough stance on crime. Thus often at odds with Speaker

Sheldon Silver Sheldon Silver (February 13, 1944 – January 24, 2022) was an American Democratic Party politician, attorney, and convicted felon from New York City who served as Speaker of the New York State Assembly from 1994 to 2015. A native of Manhattan' ...

, he endorsed several prominent Republican candidates in the past, including

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney ...

George Pataki George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. He previously served in the State Legislature from 1985 to 1994, and as the mayor of Peekskill from 1981 to 1984 ...

, and

Al D'Amato Alfonse Marcello D'Amato (born August 1, 1937) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and Republican politician who represented the state of New York in the United States Senate from 1981 to 1999. From 1995 to 1999, he chaired the Senate Banking C ...

. He resigned on June 23, 2009, following an indictment for alleged

Honest services fraud Honest services fraud is a crime defined in (the federal mail and wire fraud statute), added by the United States Congress in 1988. The idea of this law was to criminalize not only schemes to defraud victims of money and property, but also sch ...

delivered by the

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York The United States attorney for the Southern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in eight contiguous New York counties: the counties (coextensive boroughs of New York City) of New York (Manhattan) and Bronx, and th ...

. In June 2009, he pleaded guilty to taking large sums of money from hospitals through a consulting firm while still a New York State Assembly member. He died on January 6, 2011, while serving a prison term in the

Federal Correctional Complex, Butner The Federal Correctional Complex, Butner (FCC Butner) is a United States federal prison complex for men near Butner, North Carolina. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. FCC Butner ...

Butner, North Carolina Butner is a town in Granville County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,397 as of the 2020 census. Butner was managed by the state of North Carolina from 1947 through 2007. History The area eventually comprising the town of ...

. His appeal was never heard but his conviction was abated due to his death.

References

External links

The Man Who Couldn't Be Judge

Criminal Charges

Notice of death
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seminerio, Anthony S. 1935 births 2011 deaths Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Politicians convicted of honest services fraud Prisoners who died in United States federal government detention Politicians from Queens, New York New York Institute of Technology alumni New York (state) politicians convicted of crimes American trade union leaders Leaders of organizations New York City Department of Correction 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature