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{{Short description|American politician (1922–1998)}}
{{About|the New Jersey politician|the Philadelphia gangster|Joey Merlino}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Joseph P. Merlino
|image =
|caption =
|office1 = President of the [[New Jersey Senate]]
|term_start1 = January 10, 1978
|term_end1 = January 12, 1982
|predecessor1 = [[Matthew Feldman]]
|successor1 = [[Carmen A. Orechio]]
|office2 = Member of the [[New Jersey Senate]]
|term_start2 = January 11, 1972
|term_end2 = January 12, 1982
|predecessor2 = ''District created''
|successor2 = [[John P. Gallagher]]
|constituency2 = [[New Jersey's 6th legislative district|District 6B]] (1972–1974)<br>[[New Jersey's 13th legislative district|13th district]] (1974–1982)
|office3 = Member of the [[New Jersey General Assembly]] from [[New Jersey's 6th legislative district|District 6B]]
|term_start3 = January 9, 1968
|term_end3 = January 11, 1972
|predecessor3 = ''District created''
|successor3 = [[Francis J. McManimon]]
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1922|7|12}}
|birth_place = [[Trenton, New Jersey]], U.S.
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1998|10|7|1922|7|12}}
|death_place = [[Princeton, New Jersey]], U.S.
|party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
}}

'''Joseph P. Merlino''' (July 12, 1922 – October 7, 1998) was an American [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] politician who served as President of the [[New Jersey Senate]] from 1978 to 1981.

==Background==
Merlino was born in 1922 in [[Trenton, New Jersey]], the son of Pasquale and Margarita (Fuccello) Merlino. He attended [[Trenton Central High School]] and then served in the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]], mainly in the Mediterranean area. He received a bachelor's degree from [[Seton Hall University|Seton Hall College]] in 1948 and a law degree from [[Fordham University]] in 1951.<ref name=Obit>{{cite news |first=Eric |last=Pace |title=Joseph Merlino, 76, Trenton Political Figure |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 9, 1998 |access-date=March 9, 2009 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9901E7DB133BF93AA35753C1A96E958260 }}</ref>

From 1956 until 1989, he was the senior partner in the Trenton law firm of Merlino, Rottkamp & Flacks and its predecessors. He served as assistant prosecutor for [[Mercer County, New Jersey|Mercer County]] for seven years and as Trenton city attorney from 1966 to 1970.<ref name=Obit/><ref name=Manual>{{cite book |title=Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey |year=1979 |publisher=J.A. Fitzgerald |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ipMAAAAMAAJ }}</ref>

On October 7, 1998, Merlino died from complications of heart disease and diabetes at the Forrestal Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in [[Princeton, New Jersey|Princeton]]; he was 76.<ref name=Obit/>

==Political career==
===State legislature===
In 1967, Merlino was elected to the [[New Jersey General Assembly]] and was re-elected in 1969, both times from [[New Jersey's 6th legislative district#1965–1973|District 6B]] alongside [[S. Howard Woodson]]. He was then elected to the [[New Jersey Senate]] from District 6B in 1971 and re-elected in 1973 and 1977 from the [[New Jersey's 13th legislative district|13th district]]. He was assistant Senate majority leader from 1974 to 1975; majority leader from 1976 to 1977; and president of the Senate from 1978 to 1981.<ref name=Manual/>

As Majority Leader and Senate President, Merlino pushed through many legislative programs favored by Governor [[Brendan Byrne]], a longtime political ally. Among this legislation was the state's graduated income tax (passed in 1976) and the Pinelands Protection Act (enacted in 1979, authorizing the [[New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve]]).<ref name=Obit/>

===1981 gubernatorial campaign===
In 1981, Merlino ran in the Democratic primary for [[Governor of New Jersey]]. The crowded field of 13 Democratic candidates included U.S. Representative [[James Florio]], [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]] Mayor [[Kenneth A. Gibson]], U.S. Representative [[Robert A. Roe]], [[New Jersey Attorney General|Attorney General]] [[John J. Degnan]], and [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]] Mayor [[Thomas F. X. Smith]]. Merlino finished in fourth place with 11 percent of the vote behind Florio (26 percent), Roe (16 percent), and Gibson (16 percent).<ref>{{cite news |title=Florio and Kean Agree Taxes Are Key Issue |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 4, 1981 |access-date=March 9, 2009 |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20815FD395C0C778CDDAF0894D9484D81 | first=Maurice | last=Carroll}}</ref>

In January 1982, Merlino was nearly appointed to the [[United States Senate]] to succeed [[Harrison A. Williams]]. Williams, who had been convicted on federal bribery charges and faced expulsion from the Senate, was under intense pressure from Democratic Party leadership to resign. He refused to do so, and at the inauguration of Republican governor-elect [[Thomas Kean]] on January 19, 1982, outgoing governor [[Brendan Byrne]] attended with a letter appointing Merlino to the seat, addressed to Secretary of State [[Donald Lan]], in his suit pocket. Lan was ordered to remain at Byrne’s side until the moment Kean took office, just in case Williams resigned at the last minute. However, Williams did not resign until March 11, and Kean appointed [[Nicholas F. Brady]], a fellow Republican, to the vacant seat.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wildstein |first=David |date=2024-07-16 |title=Last U.S. Senator from N.J. convicted of bribery remained in office for more than 10 months |url=https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/last-u-s-senator-from-n-j-convicted-of-bribery-remained-in-office-for-more-than-10-months/ |access-date=2025-06-10 |website=New Jersey Globe |language=en-US}}</ref>

===1982 congressional campaign===
In 1982, Merlino ran for the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] in the newly redistricted [[New Jersey's 4th congressional district|4th Congressional District]]. Merlino was expected to coast to victory over the 29-year-old freshman [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] incumbent, [[Chris Smith (New Jersey politician)|Chris Smith]], whose 1980 win over [[Frank Thompson]] (indicted in the [[Abscam]] operation) was seen as a fluke. At the end of one of their debates, Smith approached Merlino to exchange pleasantries. Merlino was quoted as saying "Beat it, kid." Smith won the election with 53% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cqpress.com/ls/pia/pdfs/106/nj04.pdf |title=Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R) |access-date=March 9, 2009 |publisher=[[CQ Press]] }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/mereness-merola.html#0RA15Z6WF Joseph P. Merlino] at [[The Political Graveyard]]

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{{s-par|us-nj-hs}}
{{s-bef|before=Constituency established}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[New Jersey General Assembly]]<br>from the [[New Jersey's 6th legislative district|6B]] district|years=January 9, 1968–January 11, 1972}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Francis J. McManimon]]}}
|-
{{s-par|us-nj-sen}}
{{s-bef|before=Constituency established}}
{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[New Jersey Senate]]<br>from the [[New Jersey's 6th legislative district|6B]] district|years=January 11, 1972–January 8, 1974}}
{{s-aft|after=Constituency abolished}}
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{{s-ttl|title=Member of the [[New Jersey Senate]]<br>from the [[New Jersey's 13th legislative district|13th]] district|years=January 8, 1974–January 12, 1982}}
{{s-aft|after=[[John P. Gallagher]]}}
|-
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Matthew Feldman]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of the [[New Jersey Senate]]|years=January 10, 1978–January 12, 1982}}
{{s-aft|after= [[Carmen A. Orechio]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Presidents of the New Jersey Senate}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merlino, Joseph P.}}
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:1998 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:American people of Italian descent]]
[[Category:Deaths from diabetes in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Democratic Party New Jersey state senators]]
[[Category:Fordham University School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Mercer County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Politicians from Trenton, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Presidents of the New Jersey Senate]]
[[Category:Seton Hall University alumni]]
[[Category:Trenton Central High School alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature]]

Joseph P. Merlino - Revision history

imported>-A-M-B-1996- at 17:57, 10 June 2025