Catherine M. Abate (December 8, 1947 – May 17, 2014) was a New York State Senator. She was also a former commissioner of New York City's Correction Department. Abate was of Italian ancestry. Her father was

Joseph Abate Past member(s) Joseph Abate Joseph "Joe" Abate (July 8, 1902 – 1994) was a capo in the family's New Jersey faction. In the 1920s, Abate served as an enforcer for Al Capone in Chicago before settling in New Jersey.Raab, p.1-3 In June 1976, Ab ...

, a longtime member of the

Lucchese crime family The Lucchese crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Italian-American Mafia, Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, in the United States, within the nationwide crimi ...

. She was born on December 8, 1947, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. She received her bachelor's degree from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely fol ...

in 1969 and her law degree from

Boston University School of Law Boston University School of Law (Boston Law or BU Law) is the law school of Boston University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top law schools in the United States and considered an el ...

in 1972. After graduating, she first attracted attention for her work as a young lawyer at New York City's

Legal Aid Society The Legal Aid Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit legal aid provider based in New York City. Founded in 1876, it is the oldest and largest provider of legal aid in the United States. Its attorneys provide representation on criminal and civil ma ...

. New York Governor

Mario Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo (, ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party, Cuomo previously served as ...

appointed her as the executive deputy commissioner of the State Division of Human Rights. In 1988, she was appointed to head the state's Crime Victim's Board. She was an attorney 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 U ...

and was director of training in the criminal defense division. She also on the Governor's Task Force on Rape and Sexual Assault. In 1992, then-New York City Mayor

David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. He was the first African American to hold the office. Before enteri ...

appointed Abate as City Commissioner for the Department of Corrections."State Senate Seat Is Sought by Abate"
''New York Times'', June 21, 1994; accessed May 18, 2014. The

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

-born Democrat served two terms (1995–1999), representing a district in Manhattan. In 1998, she gave up her seat to run for New York State Attorney General. Abate lost the Democratic primary to

Eliot Spitzer Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician and attorney. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 54th governor of New York from 2007 until his resignation in 2008. Spitzer was born in New York City, attended Pr ...

. After leaving politics, she spent fifteen years working as President/CEO of the Community Healthcare Network.

Death

Abate died on May 17, 2014, aged 66, in

Bellevue Hospital Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States b ...

from

uterine cancer Uterine cancer, also known as womb cancer, includes two types of cancer that develop from the tissues of the uterus. Endometrial cancer forms from the lining of the uterus, and uterine sarcoma forms from the muscles or support tissue of the ute ...

.Notice of death of former NY State Senator Catherine Abate
, ny1.com; accessed May 18, 2014.

References

External links

accessed May 18, 2014. * * * 1947 births 2014 deaths Women state legislators in New York (state) Democratic Party New York (state) state senators Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Deaths from uterine cancer Vassar College alumni Boston University School of Law alumni New York (state) lawyers American politicians of Italian descent 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American women American lawyers and judges of Italian descent {{NewYork-NYSenate-stub