Mario Biaggi | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York | |
In office January 3, 1969 – August 5, 1988 | |
Preceded by | Paul A. Fino |
Succeeded by | Eliot Engel |
Constituency | 24th district (1969–1973) 10th district (1973–1983) 19th district (1983–1988) |
Personal details | |
Born | New York City, U.S. | October 26, 1917
Died | June 24, 2015 New York City, U.S. | (aged 97)
Resting place | Gate of Heaven Cemetery |
Political party | Democratic |
Other political affiliations | Conservative (1973) |
Spouse |
Marie Wassil
(m. 1940; died 1997) |
Children | 4 |
Relatives | Alessandra Biaggi (granddaughter) |
Education | New York Law School (LLB) |
Mario Biaggi (October 26, 1917 – June 24, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, and police officer. He served ten terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York from 1969 to 1988.
Prior to his political career, Biaggi became one of the most decorated officers in NYPD history; he killed two criminals who attacked him and was injured 11 times as an officer. He then became an attorney at 49 years of age. First elected a U.S. Representative as a Democrat from the Bronx in 1968, Biaggi was subsequently re-elected nine times, seven times with more than 90% of the vote.
In 1987 and 1988, he was convicted in two trials of receipt of unlawful gratuities, and, facing the prospect of expulsion from the House, he resigned from Congress in 1988.[1]