Dennis Vacco

Dennis C. Vacco
62nd New York State Attorney General
In office January 1, 1995 – December 31, 1998
Governor	George Pataki
Preceded by	G. Oliver Koppell
Succeeded by	Eliot Spitzer
Personal details
Born	August 16, 1952 (1952-08-16) (age 59) Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Kelly Vacco
Residence	Buffalo, New York
Alma mater	Colgate University University at Buffalo Law School
Profession	Lawyer

Dennis C. Vacco (born August 16, 1952, Buffalo, New York) is an American lawyer and politician. He graduated a B.A. from Colgate University in 1974, a J.D. from University at Buffalo Law School in 1978, and was admitted to the bar in 1979.

He was an Assistant District Attorney of Erie County from 1978 to 1988, and US Attorney for the Western District of New York from 1988 until the beginning of the Clinton administration in 1993. He was New York State Attorney General from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 1998. In 1994 he defeated Karen Burstein, the Democratic nominee. Vacco brought national attention through a series of prosecutions brought against ISPs, including Dreamscape Online for distributing child pornography. The principal defendant, Buffnet, eventually pled guilty to a charge of fourth degree facilitation of a felony and was fined $5,000.^[1]

Vacco played a prominent role in Mayor Rudy Giuliani's attempt to require Time Warner Cable to carry the Fox News Channel. An attempt by Vacco to bring an anti-trust violation charge against Time-Warner failed. In 1998, Vacco was defeated in his bid for re-election by future Governor Eliot Spitzer. During his tenure as Attorney General, Vacco also argued the landmark assisted suicide case Vacco v. Quill before the United States Supreme Court. He successfully defended the state's ban on the practice, winning the case by a 9–0 vote. After leaving the Attorney General's office Vacco worked as Vice-President for New York Operations of Waste Management, Inc.

Electoral history

New York Attorney General Election 1998
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Eliot Spitzer	2,084,948	48.2	+.82
	Republican	Dennis Vacco (inc.)	2,059,762	47.62	-1.66
	Independence	Catherine Abate	81,439	1.88	+1.07
	Right to Life	Robert W. Dapelo	60,399	1.40	-.36
	Libertarian	Daniel A. Counti, Jr.	19,864	.46	+.05
	Green	Johann L. Moore.	18,984	.44

• Vacco also ran on the Conservative Party of New York ticket.

References

1. ^ http://familyinternet.about.com/library/weekly/aa021901a.htm^{[dead link]}

External links

• Profile at Lawyers.com

Legal offices
Preceded by G. Oliver Koppell	New York State Attorney General 1995–1998	Succeeded by Eliot Spitzer

Persondata
Name	Vacco, Dennis
Alternative names
Short description	American lawyer and politician
Date of birth	August 16, 1952
Place of birth	Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Date of death
Place of death