Carmine DeSapio

Carmine DeSapio
DeSapio on Firing Line, May 1, 1967
Secretary of State of New York
In office January 1, 1955 – January 1, 1959
Governor	Averell Harriman
Preceded by	Thomas J. Curran
Succeeded by	Caroline K. Simon
Personal details
Born	(1908-12-10)December 10, 1908 Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Died	July 27, 2004(2004-07-27) (aged 95)
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Fordham University

Carmine Gerard DeSapio (December 10, 1908 – July 27, 2004) was an American politician from New York City. He was the last head of the Tammany Hall political machine to dominate municipal politics.

DeSapio was born in lower Manhattan. His father was an Italian immigrant, while his mother was of the second generation. He graduated from Fordham University in 1931.

He started his career in the Tammany Hall organization as an errand boy and messenger for precinct captains. Tammany Hall was the name given to the Democratic political machine that dominated New York City politics from the mayoral victory of Fernando Wood in 1854 through the election of Fiorello H. La Guardia in 1933. He was first elected a district captain in 1939, but was rejected by the leadership in the struggle between Irish and Italian interests for control of the organization. In 1943 he was accepted as district leader for lower Greenwich Village.

In 1949, DeSapio became the youngest Boss in the history of Tammany Hall, succeeding Hugo Rogers. His Italian heritage signaled the end of Tammany's longtime dominance by Irish-American politicians, and DeSapio became the first nationally prominent Italian-American political leader. Throughout his political life, DeSapio gained notoriety from alleged involvement with organized crime, even though he fought to distance the organization from the unsavory days of Boss Tweed, and allegations of corruption. In 1951, Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee concluded that DeSapio was feeding the interests of New York's most powerful mobster Frank Costello, and that Costello had become the lead person who influenced decisions made by the Tammany Hall council. DeSapio admitted to having met Costello several times, "but insisted that politics was never discussed".

Unlike many of the previous "bosses," however, DeSapio always made his decisions known to the public and promoted himself as a reformer. As boss of Tammany, he demonstrated liberal credentials when he diversified Tammany's leadership by naming the first Puerto Rican Manhattan district leader, Anthony Mandez, and backed Hulan Jack as Manhattan's first African-American Borough President. His ties with Costello also failed to halt his rise to power in the local political scene.