Joseph S. Dominelli Rotterdam — Joseph S. Dominelli, 93, passed away peacefully on June 29, 2011, surrounded by his loving family. Born on August 11, 1917 in Schenectady, Joe was the son of Joseph and Madeline C a m p a c h e r o Dominelli. He a t t e n d e d t h e f o r m e r M t . Pleasant High School, and in 1939 married his wife, Florence. In 1943 Joe was drafted into the United States Army and on June 6, 1944 went ashore on Omaha Beach in Normandy. After being wounded and being returned to his unit, Joe rec e i v e d h i s m o s t s e r i o u s wounds in Germany later that year. In 1945 he was honorably discharged at the Thomas M. England General Hospital and returned home with three purple hearts and three bronze stars. In 1947 Joe joined the Rotterdam Police Department becoming the seventh police officer. He immediately became involved in the Police Benevolent Association and the Police Conference of New York. Eventually, Joe was elected as president of the Rotterdam PBA and vice president of the PCNY. In December of 1963 Joe became Chief of Police in the town of Rotterdam. He quickly became involved in the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. During Joe’s law enforcement career, he was repeatedly elected to positions in local, regional, and statewide organizations that represented rank and file officers as well as chiefs. After six successful years as vice president of the IACP, Joe was elected as president in 1973. In 1974 Joe became Executive Director of the NYS Association of Chiefs of Police. In 1987 Governor Mario Cuomo appointed Joe to the State Investigation Commission while remaining executive director of the Chiefs of Police Association until his retirement in 2004. Joe was a founding member of the Schenectady Veterans Club and the Rotterdam Elks. He is survived by his wife of 72 years, Florence Mangino Dominelli; his two daughters, Carol Oropallo and Jo-Ann (Gary) DeLuke; three grandchildren, Darren (Suzanne) Oropallo, Ryan (Melinda) Oropallo, and Jolene (Josh) Kowalski; four great-grandchildren, Oliver and Elijah Kowalski, Rianno and Giovanna Oropallo. Joe is also survived by two brothers, Ed and Ralph Dominelli, and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his granddaughter, Kara Mia DeLuke, and his brother, James Dominelli. Along with his family, Joe was also a “father figure” and mentor to many. Calling hours will be held Tuesday, July 5, 2011 from 4 to 7 p.m. at DeMarco-Stone Funeral Home, 1605 Helderberg Ave., Rotterdam. Funeral services will be held 10 a.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Entombment with military honors will follow at St. Cyril’s Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Rotterdam Boys and Girls Club, 721 Curry Rd., Schenectady, NY 12306 or the City Mission of Schenectady, 425 Hamilton St., Schenectady, NY 12305. 1605 Helderberg Ave. Schenectady • 355-5770
Joe Dominelli: "The chief of chiefs" Longtime Rotterdam chief dead at age 93 Saturday, July 2, 2011 By Justin Mason (Contact) Gazette Reporter
ROTTERDAM — With his booming voice and imposing figure, Joe Dominelli often seemed larger than life. The former Rotterdam police chief was never afraid to speak his mind and never needed a microphone to do it. He was a presence. “If he walked into a room, everybody would know he was there, he was that big of a presence,” recalled John Grebert, who succeeded Dominelli as executive director of the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police. “He was fearless, but at the same time he was a very friendly and approachable person.” Dominelli’s charisma and dedication to law enforcement helped transform the position of police chief from a patronage job requiring no prerequisites to an accredited civil service position. He authored the exam that candidates for chief now take. He also helped modernize the chiefs association, bringing the organization back from the brink of insolvency and irrelevance to make it a legislative force in Albany. “He really played on a bigger stage,” said Tom Constantine, former state police superintendent and a close friend to Dominelli. “A lot of the things we see now and we take for granted were really a product of his efforts.” Dominelli, a decorated World War II veteran and longtime member of the state Commission on Investigation, died Wednesday at the age of 93. His life was characterized by a dogged determination that took him from a hardscrabble upbringing in Schenectady’s Mont Pleasant neighborhood to becoming one of the state’s most influential law enforcement advocates. “He battled for his profession every day, just like he did in World War II,” said John Poklemba, the former state director of criminal justice and counsel to the chiefs association....................>>>>..................>>>>...............http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2011/jul/02/0702_dominelli/
ROTTERDAM ‘He really was something special’ Longtime police chief Dominelli recalled as mentor, friend BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Decorated hero, dedicated friend and lifelong mentor — Joe Dominelli did it all. In 93 years of life, he fought his way out of poverty and off Omaha Beach during the D-Day invasion of Normandy. The longtime Rotterdam police chief worked his way to the top of the law enforcement fi eld and created a legislative foundation for modern policing. But Dominelli was something more to his family and friends. He was the quintessential patriarch who nurtured two generations to adulthood and watched a third come into the world shortly before his death last week. “He was the leader of our family. You couldn’t make a move without him,” said grandson Ryan Oropallo during Dominelli’s service at the DeMarco-Stone Funeral Home on Wednesday. “We didn’t have a father. He was my father. He was our father.” Oropallo said his grandfather urged him into the field of law enforcement and continued to give him good career advice right up until his death. Oropallo said Dominelli always pushed him to aim for the top in his pursuits. “If I could be half the man my grandfather was to my family, I’d consider my life a success,” he said. Dominelli is survived by Florence, his wife of 72 years, and two daughters, Jo-Ann DeLuke and Carol Oropallo, among other family members. He was buried at St. Cyril's Cemetery with full military honors. Dominelli’s indomitable character was forged in adversity, said Tom Constantine, the former state police superintendent and a close friend. Dominelli’s teenage years were spent in Schenectady’s Mont Pleasant neighborhood during the Great Depression, and he was drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II, only to land in some of the bloodiest battles of the European theater. Constantine said Dominelli responded to the trials of his early life like many from his generation: He became a determined and innovative leader. He joined the Rotterdam Police Department as a patrolman in 1947 and quickly worked his way up the ranks, becoming chief 16 years later. “He really was something special,” Constantine said. Dominelli also had a personal appeal that transcended politics. Constantine said his ability to get along with just about everyone allowed him to fundamentally change local policing. ...................>>>>.......................>>>>.........................................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00102&AppName=1
With the passing of former Rotterdam Police Chief Joseph S. Dominelli, thousands of us whose lives were touched by this great man will remember and share among ourselves fond personal memories. In 1993, I had a set as a personal goal the enactment of state legislation that would give the Division of Criminal Justice Services a mandate to promote a program called Triad, that would encourage law enforcement agencies to better meet the needs and concerns of our growing population of senior citizens. A bill was drafted and introduced by then-freshman Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito (D-Utica) and then-Senate Aging Committee Chairman Dean Skelos (R-Nassau County). It was up to me to find a way to make the bill move forward. I sent a copy of the bill to Joe Dominelli at the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police [NYSACOP]. Two days later, he called and said: “We have to do something to protect the elderly. Draft a memo in support and we’ll put it on the association’s letterhead and file it immediately.” Three months later, the bill was on Gov. Mario Cuomo’s desk. That was the thing about Joe. He always knew the right thing to do. And he did it. At the time, he was 75 years old. I suppose that qualified him to be considered one of the elderly we needed to protect. But he surely did not see himself that way. In fact, even the last time I saw him last summer, at the age of 91, there was nothing elderly about him except his appearance. He was a champion to the last. Many things will be said about Joe Dominelli when those of us who knew and loved him come together in days to come. We will celebrate his heroism during WWII. We will be grateful for his decades of leadership in law enforcement. We will count ourselves lucky indeed to have had his friendship. And we will honor his love for and his devotion to his family and community. But let us remember first and foremost for what he was: a man of deeds, not words. When he helped me get the Triad bill enacted in 1993, he was acting to protect the children of the Greatest Generation — that generation who thought of their families and their countrymen before themselves. And he did it without thinking twice, as did they all. Well done, Joe Dominelli. Thank you for everything you have done for us.
TERRY O’NEILL Albany The writer is director of the Constantine Institute.
Now what the hell is the "Constantine Institute?" It sounds a little like a lobby to get more tax dollars for brass. More brass, more huge salaries. Who knows? What I do know is that what took Ronald Reagan a decade and billions to do to the Russians (bankrupt them) the terrorists effectively have done with 22 guys and a few hundred grand to us in the same amount of time.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
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