Robert Torricelli

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Robert Torricelli

| image = Robert Torricelli.jpg

| jr/sr = United States Senator

| state = New Jersey

| term_start = January 3, 1997

| term_end = January 3, 2003

| predecessor = Bill Bradley

| successor = Frank Lautenberg

| office1 = Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee

| leader1 = Tom Daschle

| term_start1 = January 3, 1999

| term_end1 = January 3, 2001

| predecessor1 = Bob Kerrey

| successor1 = Patty Murray

| state2 = New Jersey

| district2 = {{ushr|NJ|9|9th}}

| term_start2 = January 3, 1983

| term_end2 = January 3, 1997

| predecessor2 = Harold Hollenbeck

| successor2 = Steve Rothman

| birth_name = Robert Guy Torricelli

| birth_place = Paterson, New Jersey, U.S.

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1951|8|27}}

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party = Democratic

| spouse = {{marriage|Susan Holloway|1980|2001|end=divorced}}

| education = Rutgers University, New Brunswick (BA)
Rutgers University, Newark (JD)
Harvard University (MPA)

| signature = Robert Torricelli signature.gif

| caption = Official portrait, 1997

}}

Robert Guy Torricelli{{cite news|url=https://observer.com/2017/11/torricelli-will-not-primary-menendez-in-2018/|title=Torricelli Will Not Primary Menendez in 2018|work=The Observer|last=Alfaro|first=Alyana|date=November 16, 2017|access-date=December 18, 2019}} (born August 27, 1951) is an American attorney and former politician. A Democrat, Torricelli served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Jersey's 9th district from 1983 to 1997 and as a United States senator from New Jersey from 1997 to 2003.

He is notable for his tenure as chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. In September 2002, Torricelli ended his Senate re-election campaign after having been formally admonished by the U.S. Senate in connection with a campaign finance scandal. He later founded Rosemont Associates and Woodrose Properties. Rosemont is an international consulting firm and Woodrose has developed and managed commercial and multi family real estate in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida.

Early life and education

Torricelli was born in Paterson, New Jersey, the son of Betty (Lotz), a school librarian, and Salvatore Torricelli, a lawyer.{{cite web| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/06/nyregion/focused-and-passionate-campaigner.html| title=Focused and Passionate Campaigner| author=Jennifer Preston| date=November 6, 1996| work=The New York Times| access-date=June 1, 2016}} After graduation from Storm King School in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, Torricelli attended Rutgers University, New Brunswick where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1974. He then earned his J.D. degree in 1977 from Rutgers Law School in Newark. He was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1978 and later attended Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, earning a master's in public administration in 1980.{{cite news| url=http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/T000317/| title=Bob Torricelli| newspaper=Washington Post| access-date=June 1, 2016}}

Career

Torricelli was an assistant to the Governor of New Jersey, Brendan Byrne, from 1975 to 1977. In 1978, he served as associate counsel to Vice President Walter Mondale, and managed the Carter-Mondale campaign in the Illinois primary. At the 1980 Democratic National Convention, he served as the director of the Rules Committee.{{cite journal| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1734&dat=19800703&id=-ZcbAAAAIBAJ&pg=5133,353501&hl=en| title=Battle Over Convention Rules Begins| author=Mary Thronton| date=July 3, 1980| journal=The Dispatch| access-date=June 1, 2016}}

=U.S. Representative=

In 1982, Torricelli ran for U.S. Congress, defeating incumbent Republican Harold Hollenbeck.{{cite web| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/30/nyregion/a-3-term-congressman-woos-new-constituency.html| title=A 3-Term Congressman Woos New Constituency| author=Samuel G. Freedman| date=October 30, 1982| work=The New York Times| access-date=June 1, 2016}} Torricelli served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 until 1997 representing New Jersey's 9th congressional district.

Torricelli was a resident of New Milford, New Jersey during his first term in Congress.Parisi, Albert J. [https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/30/nyregion/return-of-body-expected.html "Return of Body Expected"], The New York Times, January 30, 1983. Accessed June 2, 2017. "A body that may be that of a missing New Jersey freelance journalist is expected to be shipped to the United States this week at the request of Representative Robert Torricelli, a freshman Democrat from New Milford."Barone, Michael; and Ujifusa, Grant. The Almanac of American Politics 1988', p. 755. National Journal'', 1987.

Torricelli was Democratic floor leader in the Persian Gulf War discussion regarding the adoption of the "Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution" in 1991 and gave the closing speech.{{cite journal| journal=Congressional Record| date=January 12, 1991| title=U.S. Congress - Congressional Record| pages=H424}}

In 1988, Torricelli visited Cuba and stated, "Living standards are not high, but the homelessness, hunger and disease that is witnessed in much of Latin America does not appear evident."{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1345216431 |title=Sanctions as War: Anti-Imperialist Perspectives on American Geo-Economic Strategy |date=2023 |publisher= Haymarket Books|isbn=978-1-64259-812-4 |location= |pages=134 |oclc=1345216431 |last1=Davis |first1=Stuart }} He sponsored the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 which prohibits U.S. trade with Cuba.{{cite web| url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/elian/etc/cron.html| title=Timeline| publisher=Frontline| access-date=June 1, 2016}} Torricelli stated that the act would "wreak havoc on that island. He defended the legislation as necessary to force democratic refirm on the island and halt Castro’s export of violent revolution in Latin America. After candidate Bill Clinton endorsed the legislation, President Bush signed it."{{Cite web |title=The politics behind Clinton's Cuba policy |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1994-08-30-1994242173-story.html |access-date=2023-01-25 |website=Baltimore Sun|date=30 August 1994 }} Academic Helen Yaffe writes that between Toricelli's 1988 visit and the 1992 Act, he received significant campaign contributions from the Cuban American National Foundation.

He was chairman of the House subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.{{cite book| title=Unfinished Business: American and Cuba After the Cold War. 1989-2001| author=Morris Morley, Chris McGillion| date=September 16, 2002| publisher=Cambridge University Press}}

=U.S. senator =

Torricelli was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996, defeating Republican Congressman Dick Zimmer by 291,511 votes to obtain the seat vacated by the retirement of Democratic Senator Bill Bradley. It was later found that six donors had made illegal contributions to Torricelli's campaign.{{cite news|last1=Kocieniewski|first1=David|title=As Bush Rises, Torricelli Cools Partisan Fire|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/06/nyregion/as-bush-rises-torricelli-cools-partisan-fire.html|access-date=8 October 2014|work=New York Times|date=6 January 2001}} In 2000, he headed the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee which regained the Democratic majority in the Senate.{{cite web| url=https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/2002/11/20/senate-section/article/S11704-1| title=Tribute to Departing Senators| date=November 20, 2002| publisher=Congress.gov| access-date=June 1, 2016}} Torricelli was responsible for recruiting Senate candidates including Hillary Clinton.{{cite book| title=Living History| author=Hillary Clinton| date=2003| publisher=Simon Schuster| pages=495–496}} As a member of the Senate Finance Committee Torricelli amended the tax code to permit the partial deduction of college tuition for the first time. After 9/11, he amended legislation to authorize a new rail tunnel to NYC.

A federal criminal investigation into Torricelli was dropped in early 2002.{{cite web| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/04/nyregion/charges-ruled-out-as-us-concludes-torricelli-inquiry.html| title=Charges Ruled Out As U.S. Concludes Torricelli Inquiry| author=David Kocieniewski, Tim Golden| date=January 4, 2002| work=The New York Times| access-date=June 1, 2016}}{{cite web| url=http://edition.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/01/03/torricelli.cleared/index.html?related| title=N.J. Senator Torricelli cleared in federal probe| date=January 3, 2002| publisher=CNN| access-date=June 1, 2016}} In the summer of 2002, however, Torricelli received a formal letter of admonishment from the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics following an investigation into his alleged receipt of improper gifts from campaign donor David Chang, who had pleaded guilty to violating federal election laws.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/09/30/elec02.nj.s.torricelli.race/|title=CNN.com - Torricelli drops out of N.J. race - Sep. 30, 2002|website=www.cnn.com}}http://www.ethics.senate.gov/downloads/pdffiles/torricelli.pdf Senate.gov: Letter of Admonishment{{cite web| url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1033398242758376953| title=Torricelli Throws in Towel In New Jersey Senate Race| author=John Harwood, Shailagh Murray| date=September 30, 2002| publisher=The Wall Street Journal| access-date=June 1, 2016}} Torricelli apologized to voters for his behavior and delivered a speech in which he promised to take "'full personal responsibility'" for his actions. On September 30, 2002, Torricelli ended his 2002 re-election campaign after Republicans "successfully made the incumbent's ethics troubles -- stemming from illegal 1996 campaign donations and questionable gifts -- a campaign issue..." Shortly thereafter, the New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Democratic Party could legally replace Torricelli's name on the ballot with that of former U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg.{{cite web| url=http://fl1.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/nytimes/docs/torricelli/njdpsmsn100202scord.pdf| title=Supreme Court of New Jersey A-24 September Term 2002| publisher=Find Law| access-date=June 1, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304022932/http://fl1.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/nytimes/docs/torricelli/njdpsmsn100202scord.pdf| archive-date=2016-03-04| url-status=dead}}{{cite web| url=http://articles.philly.com/2002-10-10/news/25353380_1_debate-proposal-head-to-head-debates-third-party-candidates| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617184126/http://articles.philly.com/2002-10-10/news/25353380_1_debate-proposal-head-to-head-debates-third-party-candidates| url-status=dead| archive-date=June 17, 2016| title=Rivals feud over Senate debates Frank R. Lautenberg wants to add third-party candidates. Douglas Forrester sees a ploy to evade a direct encounter.| author=Tom Turcol| date=October 10, 2002| publisher=Philly.com| access-date=June 1, 2016}}

In 2007, Torricelli drew public criticism despite federal rules allowing retired officials to give leftover campaign funds to political parties, candidates and charities when his leftover campaign funds, given to the Rosemont Foundation, were not funneled back to his political party.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/24/nyregion/24torricelli.html |title=Now a Lobbyist, an Ex-Senator Uses Campaign Money|work=New York Times |access-date=2008-04-23 |date=2007-08-24 | first1=Raymond | last1=Hernandez | first2=David W. | last2=Chen}}{{cite web| url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/political-donations-ex-senators-coffers-questioned| title=Political donations from ex-senator's coffers questioned| date=August 25, 2007| publisher=Las Vegas Review-Journal| access-date=June 1, 2016}} The Rosemont Foundation donates funds to animal welfare charities with particular emphasis on dog shelters.

During his time in the Senate, Torricelli was a member of the Governmental Affairs Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Rules Committee.{{cite web| url=http://governors.rutgers.edu/video-library/individual-interviews/interview-with-robert-torricelli/| title=Interview with Robert Torricelli| publisher=Rutgers| access-date=June 1, 2016}}

=Post-congressional career=

In 2003, Torricelli was appointed by the U.S. Federal District Court as special master overseeing the environmental cleanup project of the Mutual Chemical site in Jersey City, New Jersey, owned by the Honeywell Corporation.{{cite journal| title=Torricelli to Oversee Honeywell Toxic Cleanup| author=Laura Mansnerus| journal=The New York Times| date=May 24, 2003}}

Torricelli founded business and government affairs consulting firm Rosemont Associates.{{cite web| url=http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index.ssf/2011/08/former_new_jersey_sen_robert_t.html| title=Former New Jersey Sen. Robert Torricelli has job lobbying government for owners of Bayonne Medical Center, who are in deal to buy Hoboken University Medical Center| author=Charles Hack| date=August 12, 2011| publisher=NJ.com| access-date=June 1, 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Hernandez|first1=Raymond|last2=Chen|first2=David W. |title=NOW A LOBBYIST, EX-SENATOR USES CAMPAIGN MONEY|work=The New York Times|date=24 August 2007|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/24/nyregion/24torricelli.html}}{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/30/AR2008043003202.html| title=A Politician's Favorite Charity Is...| author1=Mary Ann Akers| author2=Paul Kane| date=May 1, 2008| newspaper=Washington Post| access-date=December 18, 2016}} He is a partner in real estate firm Woodrose Properties, which is invested in over 50 multi family or commercial properties in 10 states.{{cite web| url=http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2013/02/closed_trenton_restaurant_may.html| title=Former Sen. Torricelli buys Trenton landmark Lorenzo's, plans $20M office complex| author=Erin Duffy| date=February 19, 2013| publisher=NJ.com| access-date=June 1, 2016}}{{cite web| url=http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/the-latest/51199-political-watering-hole-in-trenton-to-be-razed-| title=Political watering hole in Trenton to be razed| date=February 19, 2013| publisher=Newsworks| access-date=June 1, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624175531/http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/the-latest/51199-political-watering-hole-in-trenton-to-be-razed-| archive-date=2016-06-24| url-status=dead}} Torricelli has represented the Iranian opposition group, the MEK.{{cite web| url=http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/ex-sen-torricelli-mek-has-done-wrong-in-past-but-is-useful-now| title=Ex-Sen. Torricelli: MEK Has Done 'Wrong' In Past But Is Useful Now| author=Eric Lach| date=February 3, 2011| publisher=TPM| access-date=June 1, 2016}}{{cite web| url=https://theintercept.com/2015/02/26/long-march-yellow/| title=Long March of the Yellow Jackets| author=Ali Gharib, Eli Clifton| date=February 26, 2015| publisher=The Intercept| access-date=June 1, 2016}}

Personal life

Torricelli was married to Susan Holloway{{cite news |title=Torricelli's Wide-Reaching Goals Inspire and Enrage |author=BRETT PULLEY |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/31/nyregion/torricelli-s-wide-reaching-goals-inspire-and-enrage.html |newspaper=New York Times |date=October 31, 1996 |access-date=3 September 2012}} and has dated Bianca Jagger.{{cite web| url=http://mgross.com/writing/books/my-generation/bonus-chapters/senator-robert-torricelli-suburban-boy-patriot-bianca-jagger-boyfriend-flaming-partisan/| title=Senator Robert Torricelli: Suburban Boy Patriot, Bianca Jagger Boyfriend, Flaming Partisan| author=Michael Gross| publisher=Michael Gross| access-date=June 1, 2016}}

Bibliography

{{cite book| author=Robert Torricelli Andrew Carroll| title=In Our Own Words: Extraordinary Speeches of the American Century| publisher=WSP| date=1999}}
{{cite book| author=Robert Torricelli| title=Quotations for Public Speakers: A Historical, Literary, and Political Anthology| url=https://archive.org/details/quotationsforpub00robe| url-access=registration| publisher=Rutgers University Press| date=2000| isbn=9780813528892}}