1. Alfonse Marcello D'Amato was born on August 1,1937 and is an American attorney, lobbyist, and Republican politician who represented the state of New York in the United States Senate from 1981 to 1999.
36 Facts About Al D'Amato
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Al D'Amato was born in Brooklyn in 1937 and raised in Island Park, New York.
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Al D'Amato attended Syracuse University, receiving a law degree, before returning to Island Park and becoming involved in local Republican politics.
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In 1980, Al D'Amato defeated four-term Republican incumbent Jacob Javits in the primary election for United States Senator.
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Al D'Amato went on to prevail in the general election, defeating Javits and Democratic US Representative Elizabeth Holtzman.
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Al D'Amato was re-elected in 1986 and 1992, but was defeated in 1998 by Chuck Schumer.
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Al D'Amato, of Italian ancestry, was born in Brooklyn and raised in the small village of Island Park on Long Island.
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Al D'Amato is the son of Antoinette and Armand D'Amato, an insurance broker.
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Al D'Amato is a graduate of Syracuse University and Syracuse University College of Law.
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Al D'Amato served as public administrator of Nassau County from 1965 to 1968, and then served as Hempstead tax assessor in 1969.
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From 1971 to 1977, Al D'Amato was a Hempstead town supervisor.
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Al D'Amato was the presiding supervisor and the vice chair of the Nassau County Board of Supervisors from 1977 to 1980.
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Al D'Amato was re-elected in 1986 and 1992, but lost in 1998 to Democratic congressman Chuck Schumer, a future Senate Majority Leader.
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Al D'Amato drew the nickname "Senator Pothole" for his delivery of "constituent services", helping citizens with their individual cases.
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Al D'Amato holds the record for the third- and eleventh-longest filibusters ever recorded in the United States Senate.
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Al D'Amato is remembered for his unique and rather comical filibusters.
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In 1992, Al D'Amato filibustered a bill that would have caused the loss of 750 jobs in upstate New York by singing "South of the Border ".
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Al D'Amato is remembered for presenting a poster of a "Taxasaurus Rex", which he then stabbed with an oversized pencil.
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Al D'Amato voted in favor of the bill establishing Martin Luther King Jr.
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In 1987, Al D'Amato voted to confirm Robert Bork to the Supreme Court of the United States, but Bork's nomination was rejected.
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In 1991, Al D'Amato voted to confirm Clarence Thomas to the US Supreme Court; Thomas was confirmed by the Senate.
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Al D'Amato was chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and was a member of the Senate Finance Committee.
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Al D'Amato was influential in New York Republican politics and was considered the "boss" of the state party during his Senate years.
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Al D'Amato was known for being fairly conservative, a reflection of then-strongly conservative Nassau County and Long Island.
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Al D'Amato strongly supported the conservative positions of his party on "law and order" issues such as capital punishment and harsh penalties for drug offenses.
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On some issues, he agreed with the opposition: in 1993, Al D'Amato was one of only three Republicans to vote in favor of allowing gays to serve openly in the US military.
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Shortly before leaving office, Al D'Amato published his book of recollections, Power, Pasta and Politics.
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In explaining his endorsement of Thompson, former Senator Al D'Amato called Thompson "a real conservative", not a candidate who adopted conservative positions in preparation for an election.
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On March 14,2012, Al D'Amato endorsed Mitt Romney for president.
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In 2020, Al D'Amato supported Trump for re-election against Democrat Joe Biden.
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Al D'Amato asserted that Tim Scott should be chosen as the Republican vice presidential nominee.
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The couple had one son, Alfonso Marcello Al D'Amato, born in 2008, and a daughter, Luciana Cioffari Al D'Amato, born in 2009.
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Al D'Amato won emergency custody of the couple's children, claiming that Katuria D'Amato was mentally ill following an episode in which she was detained by authorities.
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In 2018, Katuria D'Amato released a video of Al D'Amato shouting obscenities at her while she was hospitalized.
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In 2017, Al D'Amato made headlines when he was removed from a New York-bound JetBlue flight after reportedly trying to rally the passengers against the flight crew.
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Al D'Amato later issued a statement apologizing for his behavior.