Robert Torricelli

Infobox_Senator | name=Robert G. Torricelli
nationality=American
jr/sr=United States Senator
state=New Jersey
predecessor=Bill Bradley
successor=Frank Lautenberg
term=January 7, 1997 – January 3, 2003
state3=New Jersey
district3=9th
term_start3=January 3, 1983
term_end3=January 2, 1997
preceded3=Harold Hollenbeck
succeeded3=Steve Rothman


width=185
height=225
birth_place=Paterson, New Jersey
birth_date=birth date and age|1951|08|27
party=Democratic
death_date=
death_place=
religion=Methodist
spouse=Susan Holloway (Divorced)

Robert Guy Torricelli (born August 27, 1951), nicknamed "the Torch," is an American politician from the U.S. state of New Jersey. Torricelli, a Democrat, served 14 years in the U.S. House of Representatives before being elected to the U.S. Senate. He served a single term in the Senate and decided not to run for reelection after a campaign finance scandal involving contributions by David Chang, an imprisoned Korean businessman.

Education and personal life

After graduation from Storm King School in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, Torricelli attended Rutgers University both for undergraduate and law school, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1974 and his law degree in 1977. He was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1978 and later attended Harvard University, earning a Master of Public Administration in 1980.

Torricelli was married to Susan Holloway, from whom he is now divorced. He reportedly has since dated Mick Jagger's former wife Bianca Jagger, conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham and U.S. Senator Maria CantwellFact|date=February 2007.

Torricelli is Italian-American on his father's side. [ [http://www.osia.org/public/newsroom/pr11_10_98.asp U.S. Congress Gains Two Italian-Americans: Italian-American Congressional Caucus Gains Two Members in the House, Keeps Most Incumbents] , Order Sons of Italy in America, dated November 10, 1998] He was raised as a Methodist. [ [http://www.interfaithinitiative.org/statements/united_methodist.html United Methodist: Urges House to Pass Gun Ban] , press release dated September 9, 1996. "Our legislation will make clear that if you are not responsible enough to keep from doing harm to your spouse or children, then society does not deem you responsible enough to own a gun," said Torricelli, a United Methodist layman.]

Early political career

Torricelli was an assistant to the Governor of New Jersey Brendan Byrne from 1975 to 1977. In 1978 he served on the Staff of Vice President Walter Mondale, and managed the Carter-Mondale campaign in the Illinois primary, at the age of 28. At the 1980 Democratic National Convention, he served the Carter-Mondale campaign on the Rules Committee. In 1982, Torricelli leveraged his political contacts into a run for US Congress, defeating incumbent Republican Harold Hollenbeck 53% to 46%.

Torricelli served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 1996 representing the New Jersey's 9th Congressional District, and then as a U.S. Senator from 1997 to 2003.

enate career

He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996, defeating Republican Congressman Dick Zimmer to obtain the seat vacated by the retirement of Democratic Senator Bill Bradley.

In 2000, he headed the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and helped the Democrats gain four Senate seats.

In the middle of an increasingly competitive race against Republican Doug Forrester, Torricelli decided not to run for reelection after disclosure of illegal contributions to his campaign by David Chang, a businessman connected to North Korea. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A20602-2001May12] In a speech, Torricelli stated that despite his leaving public office in a different way than he planned, he was proud of his service. Late in the election season in 2002, the New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Democratic Party could legally replace Torricelli's name on the ballot with that of former U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg [http://fl1.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/nytimes/docs/torricelli/njdpsmsn100202scord.pdf] , ironically a longtime Torricelli nemesis, with whom he had often publicly feuded. New Jersey Republicans had contested the Torricelli-Lautenberg swap on the grounds that the deadline for ballot changes had passed. Some claimed that Torricelli had only made his decision after local polls showed, for the first time, that the scandal had damaged Torricelli's re-election chances beyond repair [ [http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/congress/july-dec02/bkgdtorricelli_09-30.html Kwame Holman looks at Sen. Robert Torricelli's sudden decision to end his bid to retain his seat] , Online Newshour, September 30, 2002] .

Post-Senate career

He is now a lobbyist and a partner in Panepinto Properties, a Jersey City real estate developer. He was again the subject of controversy in 2007 when it was revealed that he was spending some of the $2.9 million left over from his senate campaign on donations to political candidates with ties to his business interests [cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/24/nyregion/24torricelli.html |title=Now a Lobbyist, an Ex-Senator Uses Campaign Money|work=New York Times |accessdate=2008-04-23 |date=2007-08-24] .

References

External links

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* [http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/09/30/elec02.nj.s.torricelli.race/ CNN report on Torricelli dropping out of Senate race] .