Anthony Russo (mayor)

Anthony Russo
35th Mayor of Hoboken
In office
1993–2001
Preceded by Patrick Pasculli
Succeeded by David Roberts
Personal details
Residence Hoboken, New Jersey


Anthony Russo was the 35th mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey, serving from 1993 to 2001. He won two terms, but failed to get enough votes to get a third term. (David Roberts beat him in 2001 when he got 6,064 votes and Russo only got 4,759 votes.)

Biography

In the 1993 election that got him into office, Russo beat his main opponent, Ira Karasick, by 7,023 to 5,623 votes. During his two terms, people who were loyal to Russo were put into the Hoboken Zoning Board and Planning Board by Russo. Anthony Russo's legacy has been overshadowed by corruption and cancer.

He was charged with corruption in 2003 while a Hoboken city councilman.[1]

On September 29, 2004, Russo pleaded guilty to public corruption charges in federal court. Russo admitted that he took thousands of dollars in cash from the owner of a city accounting firm in exchange for his influence in awarding contracts to the firm. Russo was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $317,000 in restitution. Russo's Prisoner ID (BOP) # is 25827-050. He served his sentence in the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina and was released in September 2007.[2][3]

In 2000, it was discovered that Russo had cancer, in the form of a brain tumor. He said he would only live another 8 months, but doctors were successful at fighting the cancer temporarily. In March 2000, the tumor was removed, but another tumor was found in August 2001. In 2002, the tumor went into remission, and because of this the doctors told Russo he could run for office again. He ran for 3rd Ward Councilor, but had to tearfully resign shortly after being elected because the cancer reappeared.

References

  1. ↑ "Former Mayor Of Hoboken Is Accused Of Corruption". New York Times. September 26, 2003. Retrieved 2015-02-13. Anthony J. Russo, the two-term former mayor of Hoboken, was indicted today on federal corruption and bribery charges a little more than a month after he ended a political comeback ...
  2. ↑
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Further reading