Sido L. Ridolfi
| Sido L. Ridolfi | |
|---|---|
| New Jersey State Senator | |
|
In office January 1954 – January 1972 |
|
| Preceded by | J. Richard Kafes |
| Succeeded by | Joseph P. Merlino |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
September 28, 1913 Trenton, New Jersey |
| Died | May 9, 2004 (aged 90) Robbinsville Township, New Jersey |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Beatrice Ridolfi |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Coast Guard |
| Years of service | 1942 – 1945 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Sido Louis Ridolfi (September 28, 1913 – May 9, 2004) was an American Democratic Party politician who served in the New Jersey Senate from 1954 to 1972, serving as Senate President in 1967.
Ridolfi was born in 1913 in Trenton, New Jersey. He attended Trenton Central High School and graduated from Princeton University in 1936, where he majored in politics. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1939.
In 1941 Ridolfi was appointed Secretary to the New Jersey Senate Minority Leader. He served as a legislative advisor to Governor Charles Edison from 1941 to 1942. He left his post to join the United States Coast Guard in World War II.
In 1947 he was elected Sheriff of Mercer County. He was elected City Commissioner of Trenton in 1951, reelected in 1955.
He was first elected to the State Senate in 1953, defeating Assistant Mercer County Prosecutor Arthur Stephen Lane. Ridolfi and Lane had attended Princeton and Harvard Law at the same time. He was re-elected in 1957, 1961, 1965 and 1967. In 1967 he served as Senate President and Acting Governor.
In December 1968, Assistant New Jersey Attorney General William Brennan III (son of Supreme Court Associate Justice William J. Brennan, Jr.) gave a speech alleging that three incumbent state legislators were "entirely too comfortable with organized crime." The legislators were later revealed to be Ridolfi and Assemblymen David Friedland and John A. Selecky. Ridolfi was accused of assisting in the purchase of a house for John Simone (aka "Johnny Keys"), a Philadelphia capo and cousin of mob boss Angelo Bruno. He was also accused of land dealings with Edmund Bralynski (aka "Big Brownie"), identified by state law enforcement officials as "a top rackets figure in Trenton."
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