Mario Cuomo
Mario Matthew Cuomo (/ˈkwoʊmoʊ/ KWOH-moh, Italian: [ˈkwɔːmo]; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994.[1] A member of the Democratic Party, Cuomo previously served as the lieutenant governor of New York from 1979 to 1982 and the secretary of State of New York from 1975 to 1978. He was the father of former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and NewsNation anchor Christopher Cuomo.
For the singer, see the Orwells.
Mario Cuomo
Hugh Carey
Hugh Carey
January 1, 2015 (aged 82)
New York City, U.S.
5, including Andrew, Margaret, and Christopher
Cuomo was known for his liberal views and public speeches, particularly his keynote speech address at the 1984 Democratic National Convention in which he sharply criticized the policies of the Reagan administration, saying, "Mr. President, you ought to know that this nation is more a 'Tale of Two Cities' than it is just a shining 'city on a hill.'"[2] He was widely considered a potential front-runner for the Democratic nomination for president in both 1988 and 1992, though he declined to seek the nomination in both instances. His legacy as a reluctant standard-bearer for the Democrats in presidential elections led to his being dubbed "Hamlet on the Hudson".[3][4]
Cuomo was defeated for a fourth term as governor by George Pataki in the Republican Revolution of 1994. He subsequently retired from politics and joined the New York law firm of Willkie Farr & Gallagher.[5]
Early life and education[edit]
Cuomo was born in the Briarwood section of the New York City borough of Queens to a family of Italian origin. His grandfather Donato came to the US in 1896.[6] Mario Cuomo's father, Andrea Cuomo, was born in New York City in 1901 but in 1904, aged two or three, was taken back to a mountain village outside Salerno, Campania, returning to the USA on his US passport more than two decades later.[6] Andrea Cuomo was from Nocera Superiore, Campania, and his mother—Immacolata Giordano—was from Tramonti, Campania.[7] The family ran Kessler's Grocery Store in South Jamaica, Queens.[8] Cuomo attended New York City P.S. 50 and St. John's Preparatory School.
Cuomo was a baseball player and while attending St. John's University in 1952, he signed as an outfielder with the Pittsburgh Pirates for a $2,000 bonus, which he used to help purchase his wife Matilda's engagement ring.[9] Cuomo played for the Brunswick Pirates of the Class D Georgia–Florida League where his teammates included future major leaguer Fred Green; [10] Cuomo attained a .244 batting average and played center field until he was struck in the back of the head by a pitch.[11] Batting helmets were not yet required equipment, and Cuomo's injury was severe enough that he was hospitalized for six days.[10]
After his recovery, Cuomo gave up baseball and returned to St. John's University, earning his bachelor's degree summa cum laude in 1953.[12] Deciding on a legal career, Cuomo attended St. John's University School of Law and graduated tied for first in his class in 1956.[12] Cuomo clerked for Judge Adrian P. Burke of the New York Court of Appeals.[12] Despite having been a top student, the ethnic prejudice of the time led to his rejection by more than 50 law firms before he was hired by a small but established office in Brooklyn.[13][14]
During his tenure at the law firm of Comer, Weisbrod, Froeb and Charles, Cuomo represented Fred Trump.[15] Cuomo eventually became a partner at the firm, but stepped down in 1974 to become New York Secretary of State.[16] In 1989, he settled a longstanding lawsuit against his former firm regarding $4 million in legal fees.[17] In addition to practicing law, Cuomo worked as an adjunct professor at St. John's University School of Law.[18]
Planned assassination[edit]
Maurizio Avola, a former Sicilian Mafioso believed to have killed about 80 people, including journalists, lawyers, politicians and mobsters, before becoming a pentito, or informer, and serving life in prison, told The Guardian in 2016 that the Sicilian Mafia had planned to assassinate Governor Cuomo on a visit to Italy in November 1992. The plan was for about a dozen gunmen armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles and explosives to ambush Cuomo. Avola's godfather, Aldo Ercolano, considered that Cuomo would be an "excellent target". Avola stated, "The aim was to target politicians or members of institutions in order to send out a clear message... Killing a prominent American was a warning to law enforcement agencies that had allowed several prominent mafia informants to live in the US under assumed identities." This was several months after the mafia had already assassinated antimafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. The attack was to be carried out in the main square of Messina, Sicily during the day. However, after Cuomo arrived in Rome on November 19 with security consisting of many bodyguards and a bulletproof car, the attack was called off.[38]
Cuomo's son Chris later denied the occurrence of said assassination attempt while guest starring on an episode of The Adam Friedland Show.[39]
Political views[edit]
Cuomo was notable for his liberal political views, particularly his steadfast opposition to the death penalty,[40] an opinion that was unpopular in New York during the high-crime era of the 1980s and early 1990s.[40] While governor, he vetoed several bills that would have re-established capital punishment in New York State.[40] The death penalty was reinstated by Pataki the year after he defeated Cuomo in the 1994 election, although it was never put into effect and the statute was declared unconstitutional by the New York Court of Appeals in 2004.[41]
Cuomo, a Roman Catholic, was personally opposed to abortion, but he was pro-choice on the issue, believing that the State does not have the right to ban the procedure. In a speech at the University of Notre Dame on September 13, 1984, he used the statements of the American Catholic hierarchy to make an argument: "What is ideally desirable isn't always feasible, ... there can be different political approaches to abortion besides unyielding adherence to an absolute prohibition."[42] For this position, Cardinal John Joseph O'Connor considered excommunicating him.[43][44]
Cuomo was also outspoken on what he perceived to be the unfair stereotyping of Italian Americans as mobsters by the media, including denying the existence of the Mafia, and urging the media to stop using the word "mafia".[45] Joseph Pistone, an FBI agent widely known for his undercover operation as Donnie Brasco, wrote disparagingly of Cuomo in his book, Unfinished Business.[45]
Cuomo opposed the move of the National Football League's New York Giants and New York Jets to the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey, choosing instead to attend the home games of the Buffalo Bills while serving as governor, referring to the Bills as "New York State's only team".
Honors and awards[edit]
At its 1983 commencement ceremonies, Barnard College awarded Cuomo its highest honor, the Barnard Medal of Distinction. Also in 1983, Yeshiva University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
In 2017, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation officially naming the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement the "Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge".[49] This has been met with significant opposition. A petition and several pieces of proposed legislation have sought to restore the bridge's name to that of its predecessor.
Family and personal life[edit]
Cuomo was married for 60 years to Matilda (née Raffa), from 1954 until his death in 2015. She is a graduate of St. John's University's Teachers College.[50] They had five children, Margaret, Andrew, Maria, Madeline, and Christopher. In 2017, Matilda was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.[51]
Cuomo's older son Andrew married Kerry Kennedy, a daughter of Robert F. and Ethel Skakel Kennedy, on June 9, 1990. They had three daughters, twins Cara Ethel and Mariah Matilda Cuomo, born on January 11, 1995; and Michaela Andrea Cuomo, born on August 26, 1997. The couple divorced in 2005. Andrew served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001. In his first attempt to succeed his father, he ran as Democratic candidate for New York governor in 2002, but withdrew before the primary. He withdrew after criticizing Republican incumbent George Pataki's leadership following the terrorist attacks on the city on September 11 the previous year. In November 2006, Andrew was elected New York State Attorney General; and on November 2, 2010, he was elected Governor of New York, inaugurated on January 1, 2011, and was re-elected two more times, serving until he resigned in August 2021 due to sexual harassment allegations.[52]
Cuomo's younger son Chris was a journalist on the ABC Network news magazine Primetime. He anchored news segments and served as co-host on Good Morning America, before moving to CNN in 2013, where he co-hosted the morning news magazine New Day. He anchored his own prime time show Cuomo Prime Time until he was suspended and ultimately fired in 2021 for assisting his brother Andrew in navigating a sexual harassment scandal which had previously led to Andrew's resignation as Governor of New York and after two accusations of sexual harassment against Chris were made.[53] He was picked as one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in 1997.[54]
Cuomo's daughter Maria is married to Kenneth Cole, the New York fashion designer. She is Chair of the Board of HELP USA,[55] a charitable foundation that is also associated with the organization her mother founded, Mentoring USA.[50]
His daughter Margaret is "a board certified radiologist, teaching professional, and national advocate for the prevention of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes".[56] She is the author of A World Without Cancer: The Making of a New World and the Real Promise of Prevention (2013),[56] and she serves on the board of directors of the nonprofit organization, LessCancer.[56] She has been featured on such TV shows as Good Morning America, Good Day New York, Morning Joe, and Inside Edition.[56] In 2011, she was awarded the Commendation of the Order of the Star by the president and prime minister of Italy.[56][57]
Cuomo remained a baseball fan after his athletic career ended, reportedly limiting his television watching to baseball games and C-SPAN.[10] He was an avid player of fantasy baseball, always with an Italian-American player on his team, regardless of how many Italian-American players were available or how well they were doing.[58] In 1994, he was featured several times on the Ken Burns PBS series Baseball, where he shared memories of his life in baseball before he entered politics.
Cuomo was the first guest on the long-running CNN talk show Larry King Live that began in 1985 and ended in 2010.[59]
Neal Conan described the man as both the most intelligent and wittiest politician he has ever interviewed.[60]
Officers of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and a state police honor guard saluting Cuomo's hearse as it passes through the Queens Midtown Tunnel, January 6, 2015
The niche of Governor Mario Cuomo
