Sido Ridolfi
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Sido Louis Ridolfi (September 28, 1913 – May 9, 2004) was an American Democratic Party politician who served in the
New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure ...
from 1954 to 1972, serving as Senate President in 1967.


Early life

Ridolfi was born in 1913 in
Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...
. He attended
Trenton Central High School Trenton Central High School is a three-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in tenth through twelfth grades from Trenton, in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Trenton Public Scho ...
and graduated from
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
in 1936, where he majored in politics. He graduated from
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
in 1939.


Senate and gubernatorial staff

In 1941 Ridolfi was appointed Secretary to the
New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure ...
Minority Leader. He served as a legislative advisor to Governor
Charles Edison Charles Edison (August 3, 1890 – July 31, 1969) was an American politician. He was the Assistant and then United States Secretary of the Navy, and served as the 42nd governor of New Jersey. Commonly known as "Lord Edison", he was a son of the i ...
from 1941 to 1942. He left his post to join the
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...
in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


Local and county elected offices

In 1947 he was elected Sheriff of
Mercer County, New Jersey Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its county seat is Trenton, also the state capital, but also directly borders the Philadelphia metropolitan area and is included within the Federal Communications Commission's ...
. He was elected City Commissioner of Trenton in 1951, reelected in 1955. He was first elected to the State Senate in 1953, defeating Assistant Mercer County Prosecutor Arthur Stephen Lane. Ridolfi and Lane had attended Princeton and Harvard Law at the same time. He was re-elected in 1957, 1961, 1965 and 1967. In 1967 he served as Senate President and Acting Governor. Prior to 1966, he represented Mercer County in the Senate; in 1965 he was elected to the new 6th Legislative District which coincidentally encompassed all of Mercer County. In the 1967 election, Ridolfi was elected to one of two
at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...
Senate seats in the 6th district, also elected was Democrat Richard J. Coffee.


Alleged ties to organized crime

In December 1968, Assistant
New Jersey Attorney General The attorney general of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state and oversees the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Department of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by the governor of New Jersey, confi ...
William Brennan III (son of Supreme Court Associate Justice William J. Brennan, Jr.) gave a speech alleging that three incumbent state legislators were "entirely too comfortable with organized crime." The legislators were later revealed to be Ridolfi and Assemblymen David Friedland and John A. Selecky. Ridolfi was accused of assisting in the purchase of a house for
John Simone John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...
(aka "Johnny Keys"), a
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
capo and cousin of mob boss
Angelo Bruno Angelo Bruno (born Angelo Annaloro, ; May 21, 1910 – March 21, 1980) was a Sicilian-American mobster who was boss of the Philadelphia crime family for two decades until his assassination. Bruno was known as "The Docile Don" due to his prefere ...
. He was also accused of land dealings with Edmund Bralynski (aka "Big Brownie"), identified by state law enforcement officials as "a top rackets figure in Trenton." On January 14, 1969, a special legislative investigating committee expressed "disapproval" of Ridolfi and Selecky. The committee reported, "While Senator Ridolfi has done nothing illegal, his actions have reflected adversely on the Legislature."


Later life

Ridolfi retired from the Senate to continue his private legal practice, and after redistricting the 6th district was split into two separate seats. He died on May 9, 2004, at the age of 90 at Rosehill Assisted Living in
Robbinsville Township, New Jersey Robbinsville Township is a township in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the border of the New York metropolitan area and the Philadelphia metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's p ...
.


References


External links


Sido L. Ridolfi
at
The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 Politics of the United States, American political figures and List of United States political families, political families, along with other informa ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ridolfi, Sido L. 1913 births 2004 deaths Politicians from Trenton, New Jersey Trenton Central High School alumni People from Robbinsville Township, New Jersey Princeton University alumni Harvard Law School alumni United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II New Jersey sheriffs Lawyers from Mercer County, New Jersey Democratic Party New Jersey state senators Presidents of the New Jersey Senate 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature