Dominick Leonard DiCarlo (March 11, 1928 – April 27, 1999) was an American lawyer and 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 * ...

. 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 1965 to 1981;

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

's first

Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics Matters Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs is a position of the United States government within the Department of State that heads the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, which ...

from 1981 to 1984; and a

United States Judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, ass ...

of the

United States Court of International Trade The United States Court of International Trade (case citations: Ct. Int'l Trade), or CIT, is a U.S. federal court that adjudicates civil actions arising out of U.S. customs and international trade laws. Seated in Lower Manhattan, New York City, ...

from 1984 to 1999.

Early life and education

DiCarlo was born in

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 ...

on March 11, 1928, and raised in the

Bay Ridge Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park to the north, Dyker Heights to the east, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway to the west, and Fort Hamilton Army Base an ...

neighborhood. He was educated at St. John's College, receiving a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1950. He then attended the

St. John's University School of Law St. John's University School of Law is a Roman Catholic law school in Jamaica, Queens, New York, United States, affiliated with St. John's University. The School of Law was founded in 1925, and confers Juris Doctor degrees and degrees for Mast ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1953. He was admitted to the bar in 1954. He completed his education at the

New York University School of Law The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

, receiving a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

in 1957.

Career

A practicing attorney since 1954, in 1959 he became an Assistant

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York The United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in five New York counties: Kings (Brooklyn), Queens, Richmond (Staten Island), Nassau and Suffolk. , the acting U.S. attorney is Jo ...

. In this capacity, in 1960 he became Chief of the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section. He left the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

in 1962. From 1962 to 1965, he was counsel to the minority leader of the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

New York State Legislative service

DiCarlo was a member of the

from 1965 to 1981, sitting in the 175th, 176th, 177th, 178th, 179th, 180th, 181st, 182nd, 183rd and

184th New York State Legislature The 184th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7, 1981, to December 31, 1982, during the seventh and eighth years of Hugh Carey's governorship, in Albany. Back ...

s. He was Vice Chairman of the New York Joint Legislative Committee on Crime from 1969 to 1970; Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Codes and an ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

'' member of the New York Law Revision Commission and the Judicial Conference of the State of New York from 1971 to 1974; and Vice Chairman of the Select Committee on Correctional Institutions and Programs (appointed in the wake of the

Attica Prison riot The Attica Prison riot took place at the state prison in Attica, New York; it started on September 9, 1971, and ended on September 13 with the highest number of fatalities in the history of United States prison uprisings. Of the 43 men who di ...

) from 1972 to 1973 In 1973, he was the only Republican in the State Assembly who voted against the Rockefeller drug laws. From 1975 to 1978, he was Deputy Minority Leader of the New York State Assembly.

State Department service

In July 1981, President

announced his intention to nominate DiCarlo as

. Following

Senate confirmation Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive branch of a government enacts something previ ...

, DiCarlo held this office from September 25, 1981, to July 13, 1984. He spent much of his time in office trying to persuade foreign leaders to supplant fields of

opium poppies ''Papaver somniferum'', commonly known as the opium poppy or breadseed poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae. It is the species of plant from which both opium and poppy seeds are derived and is also a valuable orname ...

with other crops.

Federal judicial service

On May 25, 1984, President

nominated DiCarlo to replace Judge Bernard Newman of the

. He was confirmed by the

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

on June 8 and received his commission on June 11. President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

designated DiCarlo to serve as

Chief Judge Chief judge may refer to: In lower or circuit courts The highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. * Chief judge (Australia) * Chief judge (United States) In supreme courts Some of Chief ...

in 1991, a position he held until October 31, 1996, at which time he assumed senior status.

Death and honors

DiCarlo died on April 27, 1999, after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

while exercising in the gym at the James L. Watson Court of International Trade Building. The Annual DiCarlo Lecture in International Law at John Marshall Law School is named in his honor.

Family

DiCarlo was married to Esther DiCarlo, born Esther Hansen, and the father of sons Vincent, Carl, and Robert, and a daughter Barbara. His youngest son Robert DiCarlo was a New York State Senator from 1993 to 1997. After Esther died, he was married to Susan DiCarlo, born Susan Hauck.

References

President Reagan's Nomination of DiCarlo as Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics Matters

* * ttp://www.dicarlolaw.com/dld/index.html Dominick L. DiCarlo -- The Last Really Good Politiciana short biography by one of his sons. {{DEFAULTSORT:DiCarlo, Dominick L. 1928 births 1999 deaths American people of Italian descent Assistant United States attorneys Politicians from Brooklyn Judges of the United States Court of International Trade Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly New York University School of Law alumni St. John's University School of Law alumni United States assistant secretaries of state United States federal judges appointed by Ronald Reagan 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature