Joseph P. Merlino

Joseph P. Merlino (July 12, 1922 – October 7, 1998) was an American 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 U.S. Army, mainly in the Mediterranean area. He received a bachelor's degree from Seton Hall College in 1948 and a law degree from Fordham University in 1951.

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 for seven years and as Trenton city attorney from 1966 to 1970.

On October 7, 1998, Merlino died from complications of heart disease and diabetes at the Forrestal Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Princeton; he was 76.

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.

1982 congressional campaign In 1982, Merlino ran for the House of Representatives in the newly redistricted 4th Congressional District. Merlino was expected to coast to victory over the 29-year-old freshman Republican incumbent, 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.