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{{Short description|Justice of the New York State Supreme Court}}
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{{Infobox person
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==From Naples to New York==
Born in [[Naples]], Italy,<ref name=cotillo>Cottilo, ''Italy During the World War'', [https://archive.org/stream/italyduringworld00coti#page/28/ p. 28]</ref><ref name=henderson>Henderson, ''Immigrant Politician: Salvatore Cotillo''</ref> he came to the United States in 1895 with his parents at the age of nine.<ref name=ferber1>Ferber, ''A New American'', p. 1</ref> His father Francesco Cotillo, had been a caterer in Naples. The family originally came from [[Avellino]] ([[Montella]]), in the hinterland of Naples.<ref name=ferber71>Ferber, ''A New American'', p. 71</ref> The family settled in [[East Harlem#Italian Harlem|East Harlem]] in East 113th Street among the increasing numbers of Italian immigrants. His father took up catering again and opened a popular pastry and confectionery shop.<ref name=gill204>Gill, ''Harlem'', p. 204</ref> He has been credited with introducing the Italian ice cream [[spumoni]] into the United States.<ref name=nyt071138>[
The oldest of four children, the young Salvatore did not speak English and went to Public School 83 and later to [[DeWitt Clinton High School]] and [[Manhattan College]].<ref name=henderson/> During those formative years he worked in the family's pastry shop, where intellectuals of the neighborhood gathered in the evening to discuss social and political issues with his father. Those debates gave birth to Cotillo's early social consciousness that formed the basis of his adult devotion to social reform legislation.<ref name=henderson/> The young Cotillo was passionate about baseball and became a [[History of the New York Giants (NL)|New York Giants]] fan. In return for free tickets he used to clean the stadium seats.<ref name=gill204/><ref name=ferber7>Ferber, ''A New American'', p. 7</ref>
[[File:Giosue Gallucci ca 1900.jpg|thumb|236px|Crime boss Giosuè Gallucci and wife Assunta outside Gallucci's East 109th Street cigar business, c. 1900]]
In 1911 he completed a law degree from [[Fordham University]]<ref name=nyt110611>[
As a young attorney Cotillo had to distance himself from the local underworld that incorporated many members of the [[Camorra in New York|Camorra]] from Naples who tried to impose their "services". When the so-called King of Little Italy, the Camorra boss [[Giosue Gallucci]], was arrested for carrying concealed weapons, Cotillo was asked to testify as a character witness on his behalf, but refused.<ref name=ferber20/><ref name=shaffer/> Cotillo felt that Gallucci looked at others as if they "were either hirelings or payers of tribute."<ref name=ferber20/> According to Cotillo "it was a matter of concern in the neighborhood if you were looked down upon by Gallucci."<ref name=ferber20>Ferber, ''A New American'', p. 20</ref> Despite the temptation of attractive fees, he refused to help men of Gallucci's disposition to secure gun permits.<ref name=shaffer/>
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Cotillo's early law practice included a lot of uncompensated charity for the neighborhood. Cotillo was more than just a lawyer; he advised and represented his clients as they had to deal with society outside the Italian neighbourhood. "Many problems were personal; but some had a community aspect and Cotillo was exhilarated by the challenge they offered to find a solution .... An earnest group of the more frequent callers regarded him as their leader in planning for the realization of a better life for their immigrant neighbors," according to his biographer.<ref name=ferber21>Ferber, ''A New American'', p. 21</ref> Cotillo's activities in the courts made him aware of the misfortunes in his community. Italian-Americans were told they must pay illicit tribute to get permits, even if only for push-carts, bootblacks and newsstands. Others seeking employment in the municipal street-cleaning department were asked to pay weeks and months of their earnings when appointed. This racket system, whose exploiters mostly came from among their own, took advantage of the fears and ignorance of the poor.<ref name=ferber26>Ferber, ''A New American'', p. 26-7</ref>
Apart from a genuine social compassion, Cotillo was also building political alliances that would make it possible for him to use the Italian-American voter power as his Irish-American forerunners in New York were using the power of other immigrant groups.<ref name=shaffer/> With his father, Cotillo was among the co-founders of a political club called the Tomahawk Democratic Club that took on the [[Tammany Hall]] political machine supporting [[Nicholas J. Hayes]], putting forward Henry H. Lazarus as his opponent. The fight was ruthless, with both sides harassing the other's speakers. Lazarus got beaten in the electoral contest, but Cotillo, supported by the Italian-American vote, made a deal with Hayes that gave Little Italy a political foothold in the city.<ref name=shaffer/><ref name=nyt100911>[
In 1913, at the age of 27, he became the first Italian-born assemblyman. When Cotillo arrived in the [[New York State Assembly]] in [[Albany, New York|Albany]] that year, the powerful ethnic Irish State Senator [[Timothy D. Sullivan|"Big Tim" Sullivan]] observed: "Mark my words, it is the beginning of the Italian era in politics. Watch them."<ref name=henderson/>
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==New York senator==
[[File:Salvatore Cotillo Rome 1918.jpg|thumb|236px|Cotillo addressing a crowd in front the Victor Emmanuel Monument in Rome, July 4, 1918]]
He was a member of the [[New York State Senate]] from 1917 to 1923. He served the 20th District in the [[140th New York State Legislature|140th]] and [[141st New York State Legislature]] and represented the 18th District in the [[142nd New York State Legislature|142nd]], [[143rd New York State Legislature|143rd]], [[144th New York State Legislature|144th]], [[145th New York State Legislature|145th]] and [[146th New York State Legislature]]s. In March 1918, Cotillo opposed the proposed prohibition of alcohol in the state. Although he believed in temperance, he doubted if that would be achieved by prohibition; he advocated education and not infringing on civil liberties.<ref name=nyt180318>[
In May 1918, he was sent to Italy by President [[Woodrow Wilson]] to make a study of the economic conditions of that country during [[World War I]] in order to provide information for economic relief programs and encourage the Italians to continue the war effort after the disastrous defeat at [[Battle of Caporetto|Caporetto]].<ref name="nyt180518">[
From mid-June to the end of September 1918 Cotillo traveled around Italy, meeting officials and politicians, giving interviews to the press and addressing large crowds. His efforts in Italy were reported by the press and Italian language newspapers at home in the U.S.. When he returned to New York, Cotillo had risen from a largely unknown local politician to achieve public stature and become a leader of the Italian community.<ref name=henderson/> Based on this experience he wrote the book
==Social reforms==
Back from Italy and in the New York State Senate, he fought hard for the regulation of informal immigrant banks and banking agents that handled money transfers abroad, an issue of significant importance to his Italian constituency who were often swindled from their remittances to their families in Italy.<ref name=nyt280739/><ref name=ferber122>Ferber, ''A New American'', pp. 122–128</ref> Cotillo demanded legislation to supervise immigrant banks and to safeguard
He received death threats and offers of bribes to drop the legislation he had introduced in the Senate.<ref name=nyt310321>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1921/03/31/98661192.pdf Cotillo Tells Of Bribe And Threats], ''The New York Times'', March 31, 1921</ref> Cotillo's legislation appeared to be disregarded until Republican Governor [[Nathan L. Miller]] proposed several compromises. As a result, four bills that regulated the sector were signed into law on May 1, 1921.<ref name=day/> With the return of progressive Democrat [[Al Smith]] to the Governor's office in 1923, Cotillo introduced new bills to reduce the weaknesses of the 1921 concessions. During the hearings on Cotillo's bill in March 1923, a devastating crash of the Tisbo Brothers immigrant bank at 121 Mott Street in lower Manhattan left 2,000 angry depositors, demanding their money they had deposited, with losses of more than two million dollars.<ref name=henderson /><ref name=nyt110323>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1923/03/11/105852783.html?pageNumber=1 Fake Bankers With $2,000,000 Vanish; Depositors In A Riot ̶̵ Frenzied Italians, Many Fearing Loss of Their All, Shout Threats of Vengeance], ''The New York Times'', March 11, 1923</ref><ref name=nyt090923>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1923/09/09/102057486.html?pageNumber=156 Italy Ready To Co-Operate In Guarding Aliens' Savings; Senator Cotillo Proposes System of Deposits in Italian Government Bank Through Agents Here], ''The New York Times'', September 9, 1923</ref><ref name=nyt231123>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1923/11/23/104972507.html?pageNumber=36 Immigrant Inquiry Gets Quick Results; Tisbo Depositors Lose], ''The New York Times'', November 23, 1923</ref><ref name=nyt250429>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/04/25/95932620.html?pageNumber=8 Italy Tries Tisbos on Swindle Charge; Three Brothers Face Court for Mulcting Italian Immigrants as Bankers in New York], ''The New York Times'', April 25, 1929</ref>
Cotillo was member of the Joint Legislative Committee on Housing, also known as the [[Charles C. Lockwood#Lockwood Committee|Lockwood Committee]] because it was headed by [[Charles C. Lockwood]]. The committee investigated renting and building conditions in the City of New York and ended a spate of rent-raising as a result of the housing shortage after World War I.<ref name=nyt080621>[http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=950DE0DA163EEE3ABC4053DFB066838A639EDE 43 Companies Agree To Drop Monopoly Of Fire Insurance], ''The New York Times'', June 8, 1921</ref><ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=9906E4D61430E73BBC4A51DFBF668383649EDE Charles C. Lockwood Dies at 81], ''The New York Times'', September 22, 1958</ref> The group found that the housing conditions at the time constituted a serious menace to public health in New York since some 400,000 persons were directly affected by the scarcity of affordable dwellings and the poor quality of the existing ones.<ref name=nyt310122>[http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9407E4D9153AEF33A25752C3A9679C946395D6CF Finds City Short 80,000 Homes For 400,000 Residents], The New York Times, January 31, 1922</ref><ref name=lockwood>New York State (1922). [https://archive.org/stream/intermediaterep00lockgoog#page/n18/mode/2up Intermediate report of the Joint Legislative Committee on Housing], Legislative document (1922) no. 60, State of New York, p.7</ref> Later he was the chairman of New York state commission to investigate child welfare, and a member of the Joint Legislative Committee to Investigate Exploitation of Immigrants (1923–24).<ref name=nyt280739/><ref name=exploit>New York (State). [http://pds.lib.harvard.edu/pds/view/4609923 Report of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Exploitation of Immigrants]. Albany : J.B. Lyon, printers, 1924</ref>▼
▲Cotillo was member of the Joint Legislative Committee on Housing, also known as the [[Charles C. Lockwood#Lockwood Committee|Lockwood Committee]] because it was headed by [[Charles C. Lockwood]]. The committee investigated renting and building conditions in the City of New York and ended a spate of rent-raising as a result of the housing shortage after World War I.<ref name=nyt080621>[
Cotillo supported [[Leonard Covello]], one of the great educators of New York City and among first teachers of Italian background in the city high schools, in his fight to admit Italian to the high school curriculum to enhance the self-image of Italian boys, which was granted by the Board of Education in 1922.<ref name=glazer>Glazer & Moynihan, ''Beyond the melting pot'', [https://archive.org/stream/beyondmeltingpot1963glaz#page/200/mode/2up/search/cotillo p. 200]</ref> As the foremost force on the New York State Commission to Examine Laws Relating to Child Welfare, concerned with issues of custody, orphanage, child support, and state wardship and institutions, Cotillo pushed a comprehensive reform through the legislature with the support of the social-welfare advocate [[Sophie Irene Loeb]] and the [[Hearst Corporation|Hearst newspapers]]. His biographer, Nat Ferber, a former Hearst reporter, considered the reform to be "the outstanding achievement of Cotillo's career".<ref name=henderson/>
In 1923, on behalf of the [[National Women's Party]], he introduced into the New York State Senate twenty-five radical equal rights bills for women to remove from the statutes of New York any inequalities now existing in the legal rights and obligations of men and women.<ref name="nyt040223">[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1923/02/04/105845529.pdf Women's New Equal Rights Bills Confer Full Privileges Of Men], ''The New York Times'', February 4, 1923</ref> One of the radical bills provided that a wife may demand wages from her husband for the services she performs in the home. "The law as to the ownership by the husband of the services or labor of his wife is totally abrogated," the bill said.<ref name="nyt040223" />
==Relationship with Italian Fascism==
[[File:Justice Salvatore Cotillo in 1938.jpg|thumb|left|236px|Justice Cotillo in 1938, announcing that he had asked Premier Mussolini to suspend the banning of intermarriage of Jews and Italians, until Cotillo could go to Italy and plead the cause of the Jews. ([[Associated Press]] [[Wirephoto]])]]
Cotillo was a Grand Master of the [[Order Sons of Italy in America]] (OSIA) and after World War I actively propagated the nationalist cause of Italian control over [[Fiume]], despite President Wilson's denial of the Italian claims to the Adriatic port.<ref name=henderson/><ref name=nyt130920>[
Pro-Fascists opposed the assimilation policies of Cotillo, who had become Grand Venerable of the New York State branch of OSIA in 1921 and had started an ambitious English language program as a means for upward mobility of the Italian-American community.<ref name=henderson/><ref name=nyt200725>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1925/07/20/101673286.pdf Sees Fascist Plot For Power Here; Justice Cotillo Says Sons of Italy Leader Wants Mussolini's Orders to Rule], The New York Times, July 20, 1925</ref> According to Cotillo, Fascism as a movement was "out of place in the United States" although it could serve its purpose in Italy. He said that American citizens of Italian origin that were truly engaged in Americanization should reject Fascism as incompatible and un-American.<ref name=nazzaro>Nazzaro, ''Fascist and Anti-Fascist Propaganda in America'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=Ll4XqBbVtcUC&pg=PT128 pp. 128–29]</ref> Eventually, he joined [[Fiorello La Guardia]] and [[Luigi Antonini]], of the [[International Ladies Garment Workers Union]], in founding an anti-Fascist New York State chapter of OSIA, the Sons of Italy Grand Lodge.<ref name=nyt200725/> Nevertheless, Cotillo was a staunch supporter of the [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War|Italian invasion of Ethiopia]] in 1935.<ref name=luconi>Stefano Luconi, [http://www.cairn.info/zen.php?ID_ARTICLE=RFEA_107_0107 The Venom of Racial Intolerance: Italian Americans and Jews in the United States in the Aftermath of Fascist Racial Laws], ''Revue française
In October 1938, Cotillo lobbied Mussolini "for more lenient consideration of the Jewish problem in Italy." In a letter to ''Il Duce'' he tried persuade the Italian dictator that [[Manifesto of Race|Fascist Italy's recent anti-Semitic legislation]] was unwise, and asked to "postpone execution of such drastic action for a reasonable time until an opportunity has been afforded me to appear before you and present the worthy cause because your edict may result in serious consequences in America."<ref name=luconi/><ref name=tjt211038>[http://jtn.stparchive.com/Archive/JTN/JTN10211938p01.php Justice Cotillo Asks Duce To Stop Anti-Semitism], The Jewish Transcript, October 21, 1938</ref> He asked for the repeal of the anti-Jewish laws and warned for a [[boycott]] of Italian goods in New York, where, as he wrote, "we live in close interdependent relationship" with Jewish people.<ref name=nyt081038>[
== New York Supreme Court justice==
After the 1922 elections, Cotillo became the chairman of the influential State Senate Judiciary Committee, a sign of his rising authority. The post helped him to get ready for a next step.<ref name=henderson/> In 1924, he was the first Italian-born to become Justice of the [[New York Supreme Court]], First District, where he would
While an immigrant himself and although he had been an ardent defender of the liberal interpretation of the naturalization law for a long time, in 1939 and in the wake of [[World War II]], Cotillo advocated more stringent naturalization methods. Immigrants would be forced to pay the costs of an exhaustive investigation of their qualifications. He argued that there was a "need for more hesitation in the granting of this charter of liberty to each and every applicant without a more thorough search of each and every
Earlier, Cotillo had opposed the anti-immigration restrictions of the [[Immigration Act of 1924]] that significantly limited immigration from Italy.<ref name=jta040124>[http://www.jta.org/1924/01/04/archive/jews-protest-immigration-restrictions Jews Protest Immigration Restrictions], Jewish Telegraphic Agency, January 4, 1924</ref><ref>Chin Jou (2011), [http://shfg.org/shfg/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/5%E2%80%93jou_Layout-11-final-2.pdf Contesting Nativism: The New York Congressional Delegation's Case against the Immigration Act of 1924], Federal History; January 2011, Issue 3, p. 66</ref> In 1931, Cotillo protested against unnecessary stringent requirements of a proposed registration law, particularly the requirement of the equivalent of a public school education and the fingerprinting of applicants. A naturalized citizen had the same rights as native-born and fingerprinting would make the foreign applicant feel like a criminal, Cotillo pointed out. He referred to the findings of the [[Wickersham Commission]] that the foreign-born committed considerably less crime than native citizens. He also attacked the revocation of citizenship because of evil doing, while a native born was not affected. At the time, Cotillo claimed to have naturalized some 25,000 immigrants in the eight years he had been on the bench.<ref name=nyt311231>[
==Death and legacy==
On July 27, 1939, he died following an operation for a chest tumor at [[Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center]], Manhattan, New York, at the age of 52. He was survived by his widow, Ida Berthold, and two daughters, Helen Paterno – who had married the son of prominent real estate developer [[Charles V. Paterno]]<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/59992223/ Paterno – Cotillo], ''Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' (Society Section), November 24, 1934</ref> – and Sally Cotillo.<ref name=nyt280739/><ref name=polgrave/> More than 3,000 people attended his funeral in Saint Patrick's Cathedral, including New York mayor Fiorello La Guardia, Lieutenant Governor [[Charles Poletti]], District Attorney [[Thomas E. Dewey]] and former New York Governor [[Alfred E. Smith]].<ref name=nyt010839>[
Throughout his life, both as a legislator and judge, he earned a reputation for compassion with the underprivileged and social activism which put that compassion to work. According to New York Governor Alfred E. Smith in his introduction in Cotillo's biography, Cotillo "introduced a new era in social relations between the immigrant and native or older Americans".<ref name=katsoris/>
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[[Category:1886 births]]
[[Category:1939 deaths]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the New York
[[Category:
[[Category:New York State Senators]]▼
[[Category:New York Supreme Court Justices]]
[[Category:People from
[[Category:Fordham University School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American judges]]
[[Category:DeWitt Clinton High School alumni]]
[[Category:Manhattan College alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American legislators]]
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