Robert Torricelli

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Robert G. Torricelli

Robert Guy Torricelli (born August 27, 1951 in Paterson , New Jersey ) is an American politician from the US state New Jersey. Torricelli, who is a member of the Democratic Party , sat in the US House of Representatives from 1983 before being elected to the United States Senate in 1996 . In 1996 he was involved in a corruption scandal with the Chinese businessman David Chang . He was nicknamed "The Torch" by his followers.

Life

Torricelli attended Rutgers University , where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1974 and a Juris Doctor in 1977 . While at Rutgers University , he served as president of the Rutgers College Governing Association until he was charged with misuse of funds. In 1978 he was inducted into the New Jersey Bar Association ; later he attended Harvard University , from which he graduated in 1980 with a Master of Public Administration .

Torricelli has three children with Susan Holloway , from whom he is now divorced.

Early political career

Torricelli served as assistant to New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne from 1975 to 1977 . From 1978 he worked for US Vice President Walter Mondale , where he was responsible for the Carter Mondale campaign in Illinois . At the 1980 Democratic National Convention , he was responsible for the Carter - Mondale campaign (Rules Committee). In 1982 Torricelli used his political contacts to run for Congress , which he won with 53% to 46% against his Republican rival Harold C. Hollenbeck . Torricelli sat from 1983 to 1996 as a representative of the ninth electoral district of New Jersey in the US House of Representatives. He was the initiator of the Torricelli Act passed by the US Senate in 1992 and named after him , a law that served to tighten the US blockade against Cuba .

Career in the Senate

Torricelli was elected to the US Senate in 1996. He prevailed against his Republican rival Dick Zimmer and got the seat vacated by the resignation of the Democratic Senator Bill Bradley . In 2000 Torricelli was chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee .

After Torricelli's involvement in the 1996 financial scandal became known, he decided not to run again.

In 2002, the New Jersey Supreme Court allowed the Democratic Party to replace Torricelli's place on the electoral list with Senator Frank Lautenberg . The New Jersey Republicans had gone to court against this move because the list change deadline had expired. It has been alleged that Torricelli did not make that decision until after local polls first showed that the scandal had left Torricelli's chance for re-election hopelessly undone.

In 2003, Torricelli raised money for John Kerry 's presidential candidacy and donated money to the 527 group called Americans for Jobs and Health Care , which ran controversial advertisements comparing left-wing candidate Howard Dean with Osama bin Laden .

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personal data
SURNAME Torricelli, Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Torricelli, Robert Guy; The Torch
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH August 27, 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH Paterson , New Jersey