John C. Dearie (born March 23, 1940) is 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 is most notable for his service in 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 1973 to 1992.

Early life

Dearie was born and raised in Parkchester, the son of Grace Beck Dearie Charles Edward Dearie. Federal judge Raymond J. Dearie is his first cousin. He graduated from Riverdale's Manhattan Prep High School, then attended the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

. Dearie earned an athletic scholarship and played forward on Notre Dame's basketball team. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Business Administration A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is an undergraduate degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of four years and typically 120 credits of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of busine ...

degree in accounting in 1962, and in 1966 completed a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

degree in Finance and Marketing at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. From 1969 to 1972, Dearie was a member of the staff at the United Nations Secretariat in New York City, where he coordinated conferences and aid programs. In 1985, Dearie completed his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree at

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 ...

. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1987.

Political career

Dearie entered politics as a Democrat. On February 27, 1973, he was elected to the

, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Anthony J. Mercorella. He was re-elected several times, and remained in the Assembly until 1992, sitting in the 180th, 181st, 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th and

189th New York State Legislature The 189th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 9, 1991, to December 31, 1992, during the ninth and tenth years of Mario Cuomo's governorship, in Albany. Backgr ...

s. Dearie ran for

New York City Comptroller The Office of Comptroller of New York City, a position established in 1801, is the chief financial officer and chief auditor of the city agencies and their performance and spending. The comptroller also reviews all city contracts, handles the s ...

in 1981, but was defeated by the incumbent Harrison J. Goldin in the Democratic primary. Shortly after, redistricting placed Dearie in the same district as Republican

Guy Velella Guy John Velella (September 25, 1944 – January 27, 2011) was an American Republican politician serving as a New York State Senator from the Bronx. A political leader, state assemblyman, and state senator for over 30 years, Velella was indi ...

, which now covered Parkchester and

Throggs Neck Throggs Neck (also known as Throgs Neck) is a neighborhood and peninsula in the south-eastern portion of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It is bounded by the East River and Long Island Sound to the south and east, Westchester Creek o ...

. Dearie defeated Velella in the 1982 election. Ten years later, after another re-apportionment in which his district was cut up, he decided to retire from politics, and focus on his legal practice instead.

Law career

In late 2001, it was widely publicized that John C. Dearie's personal injury plaintiffs' firm in the state of New York has been experimenting with

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

-sized " mobile law offices." Dearie's penchant for mobility began years before as an Assemblyman when he took to creating outdoor district offices by setting up folding tables in parking lots and shopping malls instead of hearings in public-hearing rooms. , there were three mobile law offices.

References

External links

John Dearie Law
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dearie, John C. 1940 births Living people Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Politicians from the Bronx 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature