Joseph Nestor Mondello (February 13, 1938 – August 1, 2022) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the

United States Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago The United States Embassy is located in Trinidad and Tobago's capital, Port of Spain, and was established there on August 31, 1962. List of ambassadors See also *Trinidad and Tobago – United States relations *Foreign relations of Trinidad ...

from 2018 to 2021. He previously served as Chairman of the

New York Republican State Committee The New York Republican State Committee, established in 1855, is the New York (state), New York State affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), United States Republican Party (GOP). The party has headquarters in Albany, New York, Albany ...

until September 2009 and as the chairman of the Nassau County Republican Committee from 1983 to May 24, 2018. Mondello was a lawyer with the firm of Berkman, Henoch, Peterson and Peddy of

Garden City, New York Garden City is a village located in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 23,272 at the time of the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Garden City is primarily located within the Town of Hempstead ...

, and held the rank of Major General in the

New York Guard The New York Guard (NYG) is the State Defense Force (SDF) of New York State, and is one of the four branches of the New York Military Forces (NYMF), the other three branches being the New York Army National Guard, New York Air National Guard ...

. Prior to being elected state chairman, he served as the head of the Nassau County Republican Committee for twenty three years. He was a past

Town supervisor The administrative divisions of New York are the various units of government that provide local services in the American state of New York. The state is divided into boroughs, counties, cities, towns, and villages. (The only boroughs, the f ...

Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) on Long Island, in New York, United States. The town's combined population was 793,409 at the 2020 census. It occupies the s ...

, as well as an attorney, college professor, high school teacher, and probation officer. He served as deputy commander of the New York Guard, and also served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

, and

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

Early career and background

Mondello was born in

Brooklyn, New York 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 February 13, 1938, to a Puerto Rican mother and a father of Sicilian descent, Joseph Mondello. Upon graduating high school, Mondello entered the

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia (United States), militia of each U.S. ...

as an

airman An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred to as a soldier in other definitions. As a military rank designat ...

from 1955 to 1956, and transferred to the

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

in the

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

from 1956 to 1958. After being honorably discharged, Mondello attended

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

, and earned his

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 ...

in 1962. After graduating, Mondello worked as a teacher in the East Meadow school system and later became a

probation officer A probation or parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probat ...

in Nassau County. Chairman Mondello would later return to his alma mater to teach as an adjunct professor of government. His activities as a probation officer spurred him to return to the study of law, and in 1966, Mondello entered the

New England School of Law New England Law Boston (formerly New England School of Law, and styled as New England Law Boston) is a private law school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded as Portia School of Law in 1908 and is located in downtown Boston near the Massa ...

. Mondello distinguished himself during his tenure in law school; he was named to law review after his first semester, an honor rarely accorded a freshman law student. He graduated in 1969, and after passing the

bar examination A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associat ...

joined the

Levittown Levittown is the name of several large suburban housing developments created in the United States (including one in Puerto Rico) by William J. Levitt and his company Levitt & Sons. Built after World War II for returning white veterans and thei ...

based law firm of Flaum, Imbarrato and Mondello. Mondello then served in a host of legal positions, including counsel to the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the Bicameralism, two houses that act as the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York: the New York State Senate and the New York State Assem ...

, and an

Assistant District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represe ...

in the Complaint, Felony, and Trial Bureaus. He would later serve as a

Special Agent In the United States, a special agent is an official title used to refer to certain investigators or detectives of federal, military, tribal, or state agencies who primarily serve in criminal investigatory positions. Additionally, some special ...

in the U.S.

Office of Naval Intelligence The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) is the military intelligence agency of the United States Navy. Established in 1882 primarily to advance the Navy's modernization efforts, it is the oldest member of the U.S. Intelligence Community and serv ...

. In 1975 he ran and was elected to the proposed

Nassau County Legislature The Nassau County Legislature is the lawmaking body of Nassau County, New York. The county is divided into 19 legislative districts, each represented by an elected legislator. It was formed in 1996 to succeed the Nassau County Board of Superviso ...

but because the electorate failed to approve a referendum setting up a legislative form of government in the County, never served in that capacity.

Political career

From 1979 to 1987, Mondello served as a Councilman of the Town of

. In January 1987, Mondello was appointed Town supervisor of Hempstead, which is the largest town in the United States with a population close to 800,000. He was then reelected by wide margins in 1987, 1989, and 1991. In 1984, Mondello became Chairman of the Nassau County Republican Committee, a position he held before stepping down in May 2018. In March 2018, he was nominated by

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

to be

. He was confirmed for the post by the

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

on June 28, 2018, and appointed on July 2. Mondello presented his credentials to President

Paula-Mae Weekes Paula-Mae Weekes (born 23 December 1958) is a Trinidad and Tobago politician and jurist who was the sixth president of Trinidad and Tobago from 2018 to 2023. She is the first female President of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the second female ...

on October 22, 2018. He resigned on January 13, 2021.

Death

Mondello died on August 1, 2022, at the age of 84.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mondello, Joseph 1938 births 2022 deaths Ambassadors of the United States to Trinidad and Tobago American people of Italian descent American political consultants County legislators in New York (state) Hispanic and Latino American diplomats Hispanic and Latino American lawyers Hofstra University alumni New York National Guard personnel New York (state) Republicans New York (state) lawyers People from Hempstead, New York People of the Office of Naval Intelligence Politicians from Nassau County, New York Puerto Rican people in New York (state) politics American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Schoolteachers from New York (state) State political party chairs of New York (state) Town supervisors in New York (state) 21st-century American diplomats