Mario Biaggi
| Mario Biaggi | |
|---|---|
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York |
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In office January 3, 1969 – August 5, 1988 |
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| Preceded by | Paul A. Fino |
| Succeeded by | Eliot L. Engel |
| Constituency |
24th district (1969–73) 10th district (1973–83) 19th district (1983–88) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 26, 1917 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 25, 2015 (aged 97) The Bronx, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Marie Wassil (m. 1940; d. 1997) |
| Children | Four |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Mario Biaggi (October 26, 1917 – June 24, 2015) was a U.S. Representative from New York (served from 1969 to 1988) and former New York City police officer. He was elected as a Democrat from The Bronx in New York City. In 1987 and 1988, he was convicted in two separate corruption trials, and he resigned from Congress in 1988.
Biaggi was born in East Harlem, New York, on 26 October 1917, to poor Italian immigrants from Piacenza in northern Italy. His father, Salvatore Biaggi, was a marble setter. His mother, Mary, worked as a charwoman.
At age 18, Biaggi became a substitute letter carrier for the U.S. Post Office. Later, he became a regular letter carrier; his mail route included the home of one of his heroes, New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia. He served nearly six years with the Post Office and, in a preview of things to come, became an activist in Branch 36 of the National Letter Carriers Association.
In 1942, Biaggi joined the New York City Police Department. His police career spanned 23 years. He retired from the Department in 1965, with the rank of Detective Lieutenant. Among his many exploits as one of the NYPD's most decorated officers, was the rescue of a woman on a runaway horse, which injured him, causing a permanent limp.
At the age of 45, and near the end of his police career, Biaggi entered law school. The American Bar Association granted him a special dispensation to study law even though Biaggi did not have an undergraduate college degree.
Biaggi attended New York Law School, and received a full scholarship thanks to Dean Daniel Gutman. Studying days, nights and weekends, Biaggi completed the three-year law degree program in only two and one-half years. In 1966, at the age of 49, he was admitted to the New York Bar and founded the law firm Biaggi and Ehrlich.
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