Ralph A. Villani

Ralph A. Villani (September 11, 1901 – February 1974) served as Mayor of Newark, New Jersey from 1949 to 1953. As of 2015 he was the last elected mayor of Newark from the Republican party.

Biography

Villani was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey on September 11, 1901, the eldest child of Anna and Carmine Villani.^[1] His parents were Italian immigrants who arrived in the United States in 1898.^[2][3]

On Tuesday, May 17, 1949 Villani was named Mayor of Newark by his fellow City Commissioners.^[4]

In 1953, a grand jury charged that Mayor Villani and other officials in the Department of Parks and Public Property, of which he served as director, had received money from employees "as salary kickbacks or payment for promotions." ^[5] That May, Mayor Villani and fellow City Commissioner Stephen Moran lost their respective bids for re-election. Villani was replaced as mayor by independent candidate Leo P. Carlin.^[6]

Villani died in late February 1974 after suffering a heart attack at his home. He was 72 years old.^[7]

References

1. "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]". United States: The Generations Network. 1951-02-27. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
2. "Fourteenth Census of the United States (1920) [database on-line], Newark (5th Ward), Essex County, New Jersey, Enumeration District: 141, Page: 7B, Lines: 69-78, household of Armine Villani". United States: The Generations Network. 1920-01-07. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
3. "World War I Draft Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]". United States: The Generations Network. 1918. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
4. "Villani is Chosen as Newark Mayor; Five New Commissioners Take Oaths in City Hall -- Pledge Harmony in Government", The New York Times, May 18, 1949. Accessed September 29, 2009.
5. "Mayor of Newark Denies 'Kickbacks'; Villani Links Jury's Charges in Parks Department Case to His Bid for Re-Election", The New York Times, April 12, 1953. Accessed September 29, 2009.
6. "2 Insurgents Win in Newark Voting; Mayor Villani Is Defeated, as Is Stephen Moran -- Charter Proposal Endorsed 7 to 1", The New York Times, May 13, 1953. Accessed September 29, 2009.
7. "Ralph A. Villan (sic) a Newark Mayor. Leader of City 1949-54 Dies - Served on Council". New York Times. February 28, 1974. Retrieved 2011-11-15. ... Mayor of Newark from 1949 until 1954, died this morning after having suffered a heart seizure at his home in Northwood. He was 72 years old.