Dominick J. Ruggerio
{{Short description|American politician (1948–2025)}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Sources|date=April 2025}}
{{Promotional|date=September 2020}}
}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Dominick Ruggerio
| office = 3rd President of the Rhode Island Senate
| term_start = March 24, 2017
| term_end = April 21, 2025
| predecessor = M. Teresa Paiva-Weed
| successor = Valarie Lawson
| office1 = Majority Leader of the Rhode Island Senate
| term_start1 = January 6, 2009
| term_end1 = March 23, 2017
| predecessor1 = Daniel Connors
| successor1 = Michael McCaffrey
| office2 = Member of the Rhode Island Senate
from the 4th district
| term_start2 = January 3, 2005
| term_end2 = April 21, 2025
| predecessor2 = Maryellen Goodwin
| term_start3 = January 3, 1985
| term_end3 = January 3, 2003
| predecessor3 = Rocco Quattrocchi
| successor3 = Maryellen Goodwin
| state_senate4 = Rhode Island
| district4 = 6th
| term_start4 = January 3, 2003
| term_end4 = January 3, 2005
| predecessor4 = V. Susan Sosnowski
| successor4 = Harold Metts
| state_house5 = Rhode Island
| district5 = 6th
| term_start5 = January 3, 1981
| term_end5 = January 3, 1985
| predecessor5 = Albert J. Lepore
| successor5 = Thomas J. Rossi
| birth_date = {{nowrap|{{birth date|1948|12|19}}}}
| birth_place = Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2025|4|21|1948|12|19}}
| death_place = North Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
| party = Democratic
| spouse =
| children = 2
| education = Bryant University
Providence College (BS)
}}
Dominick J. Ruggerio (December 19, 1948 – April 21, 2025) was an American politician who was a Democratic member and president of the Rhode Island Senate, representing the 4th District from 1985. A member of the Senate since 1985, he was previously elected Majority Leader on November 10, 2010, having won election to his 14th term in the Senate on November 2, 2010. Ruggerio served as President of the Senate from 2017 until his death in 2025.
Background
Dominick Ruggerio graduated from La Salle Academy in 1966. Ruggerio then attended Bryant College and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1974 from Providence College. He was a retired administrator for the New England Laborers Labor Management Coop Trust, as well as a member of the board of directors for the Wanskuck Library, the Sons of Italy, Loggia Vittoria, and the DaVinci Center Development Committee.
Rhode Island Senate
As Senate President, Ruggerio served as an ex officio member of all standing Senate committees.
Ruggerio served as Majority Whip from 2003 through 2010. He had previously served as a member and as Vice Chairman of the Senate Labor Committee, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Labor and Transportation, and as a member of the Senate Finance Committee, the Senate Rules Committee, the Senate Labor Committee, and the Joint Committee on Accounts and Claims. He also previously served as Deputy Majority Leader.
Ruggerio was the “Dean” of the Rhode Island General Assembly, meaning he had served longer than any other member of the RI Senate or House of Representatives.
Prior to his tenure in the Senate, Ruggerio was a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives from 1981 through 1984 and was a member of the House Labor Committee and House Corporations Committee.
He served as a policy adviser for the Office of the Lieutenant Governor from 1977 through 1981.
In January 2013, Ruggerio was one of five senators to file legislation seeking a voter referendum to define marriage as being between solely a man and a woman in the Rhode Island Constitution.
Ruggerio was briefly redistricted to Senate District 6 in 2002 before being redistricted back in 2004.{{Cite web |title=Elections & Voting- Board of Elections |url=https://elections.ri.gov/elections/results/2002/generalelection/dissen.php |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=elections.ri.gov}}
Personal life and death
Ruggerio resided in North Providence and was the father of two children, Charles and Amanda. On April 18, 2025, Ruggerio, who had been receiving treatments for cancer, was hospitalized at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence.{{cite web|url=https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/politics/2025/04/18/dominick-ruggerio-ri-senate-president-hospitalized-what-we-know/83161255007|title=Senate President Dominick Ruggerio hospitalized again. What we know.|first=Katherine|last=Gregg|website=The Providence Journal|date=April 18, 2025|access-date=April 21, 2025}} Three days later, on April 21, he died at the age of 76.{{cite web|url=https://www.wpri.com/news/politics-government/senate-president-dominick-ruggerio-dies-at-76|title=Senate President Dominick Ruggerio dies at 76|first=Ted|last=Nesi|website=WPRI.com|date=April 21, 2025|access-date=April 21, 2025}}
Arrests and legal issues
In November 1989, Ruggerio was charged with maliciously damaging the car of a Lincoln businessman, Nandy M. Sarda, in September of the same year. In February 1990, he was ordered to pay restitution and to stay away from Sarda.
Ruggerio was arrested in September 1990 for shoplifting condoms from a CVS drug store in Cranston, Rhode Island. He was not prosecuted.{{cite web|title=Rhode Island Century: Dubious Achievements |publisher=The Providence Journal |url=http://www.projo.com/specials/century/month12/dubious.htm |access-date=2011-08-15 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628232855/http://www.projo.com/specials/century/month12/dubious.htm |archive-date=2011-06-28}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/09/25/State-senator-accused-of-shoplifting-condoms-off-the-hook/3138654235200/|title=State senator accused of shoplifting condoms off the hook|website=UPI}}
In 2012, Ruggerio was arrested in Barrington, Rhode Island, and charged with DUI and refusal to submit to a breathalyzer.{{cite web|last=White|first=Tim|title=No. 2 senator Ruggerio arrested for DUI|url=http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/politics/state_politics/sen-majority-leader-ruggerio-arrested|publisher=WPRI Eyewitness news|access-date=28 March 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330005706/http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/politics/state_politics/sen-majority-leader-ruggerio-arrested|archive-date=30 March 2012}} He later pleaded guilty to refusing the test, but the DUI charge was dismissed.{{cite web|url=https://patch.com/rhode-island/portsmouth/former-senator-represented-majority-leader-in-dui-case|title=Former Senator Represented Majority Leader in DUI Case|website=Patch.com|first=Sandy|last=McGee|date=April 6, 2012}}
References
{{reflist|refs=
{{cite web|url=http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText13/SenateText13/S0096.pdf|date=January 22, 2013|title=TO APPROVE AND PUBLISH AND SUBMIT TO THE ELECTORS A PROPOSITION OF AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE (MARRIAGE)|author1=Frank Ciccone|author2=Leonidas Raptakis|author3=Marc Cote|author4=David Bates|author5=Dominick J. Ruggerio}}
}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20071010013538/http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/Ruggerio/ Rhode Island Senate - Senator Dominick J. Ruggerio] official Rhode Island Senate website
- [http://votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=7324 Project Vote Smart - Senator Dominick J. Ruggerio] profile
- Follow the Money - Dominick J. Ruggerio
- [http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=92069 2006] [http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=76236 2004] [http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=15706 2002] [http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=50430 2000] [http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=50226 1998] [http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=49925 1996] [http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=49612 1994] campaign contributions
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110208042525/http://transparencyri.com/ TransparencyRI.com]
{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=Daniel Connors}}
{{s-ttl|title=Majority Leader of the Rhode Island Senate|years=2009–2017}}
{{s-aft|after=Michael McCaffrey}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=M. Teresa Paiva-Weed}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of the Rhode Island Senate|years=2017–2025}}
{{s-aft|after=Valarie Lawson}}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruggerio, Dominick J.}}
Category:21st-century members of the Rhode Island General Assembly
Category:American people of Italian descent
Category:Bryant University alumni
Category:Deaths from cancer in Rhode Island
Category:Democratic Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives
Category:Democratic Party Rhode Island state senators
Category:La Salle Academy alumni
Category:Providence College alumni