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Nicholas A. Spano
Nicholas A. Spano
Member of the New York State Senate; from the 35th district
	In office; January 1, 1987 – December 31, 2006
Preceded by	John E. Flynn
Succeeded by	Andrea Stewart-Cousins
Member of the New York State Assembly; from the 83rd district
	In office; January 1, 1983 – December 31, 1986
Preceded by	George Friedman
Succeeded by	Terence M. Zaleski
Member of the New York State Assembly; from the 87th district
	In office; January 1, 1979 – December 31, 1982
Preceded by	Thomas J. McInerney
Succeeded by	Peter M. Sullivan
Personal details
Born	May 21, 1953 (age 71); Yonkers, New York, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Linda Spano
Children	2
Relatives	Mike Spano (brother); Leonard Spano (father)
Residence(s)	Yonkers, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	Iona College
Profession	Politician, commercial real estate agent, lobbyist
Website	Official website

Nicholas A. Spano (born May 21, 1953) is a lobbyist and Republican politician from New York. He served in the New York State Assembly and New York Senate.

Biography

Spano's paternal grandfather, also named Nicholas, emigrated with two brothers from the Italian province of Bari to the United States in 1918.^[2] Spano's father Leonard ran for public office in 1967, employing his son Nicholas in door-to-door campaigning.^[2] After losing in 1967, Leonard became a county legislator in 1971, an office he held until 1993 when he was elected to the job of Westchester county clerk.^[2]

Nicholas Spano grew up in Yonkers as the oldest of 16 children of Leonard and Josephine Spano;^[1] He is a graduate of St. Peter's Elementary School in Yonkers and Iona College in New Rochelle, New York. He and his wife Linda reside in Yonkers.^[1] Spano has two children, Lenny and Christina.^[1]

Spano entered politics as a Republican. He was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1979 to 1986, sitting in the 183rd, 184th, 185th and 186th New York State Legislatures.

He was a member of the New York State Senate from 1987 to 2006, sitting in the 187th, 188th, 189th, 190th, 191st, 192nd, 193rd, 194th, 195th and 196th New York State Legislatures.

He represented Yonkers and surrounding areas in the Legislature. During his state senate career he served on the Rules, Transportation, Finance, Education, Health, and Racing, Gaming, and Wagering committees, chaired the Senate Investigations Committee, as was the Senior Assistant Majority Leader.^{[citation needed]}

In 2004, Spano won re-election by only 18 votes after facing a serious challenge by Westchester County Legislator Andrea Stewart-Cousins.^[3] During his run for re-election in 2006, Stewart-Cousins ran against him again, this time with the support of Democrats Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Eliot Spitzer, David Paterson and Andrew Cuomo. Spano lost the rematch;^[3] he conceded defeat on November 16, 2006.

Spano subsequently become involved in commercial real estate^[4]^[5] as well as lobbying state and local governments in New York through Empire Strategic Planning, a firm he established after his defeat.^[6]

The lobbying firm came under fire in 2023 during the re-election campaign of Nicholas Spano’s brother, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano. Calls for investigation around nepotism and corruption were centered around Empire Strategic Planning’s business before the city.^[7]

Tax fraud

In 2012, Spano was indicted for federal income tax evasion. Spano pleaded guilty to a single felony count. He admitted that he underreported his income — $42,419 in federal income taxes and $10,605 in state taxes — from 2000 to 2008. He was sentenced to a year and a day in prison.^[8]^[9]

Boycott proposal

In 1990, Spano recommended a boycott of Sinéad O'Connor's concert in Saratoga Springs as retaliation against her choice to skip over the US national anthem at a Madison Square Garden concert some days prior.^[10]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Elsa Brenner (June 17, 2007). "Working Under a New Title, but Using the Same Albany Charm". The New York Times. Retrieved March 20, 2011. Mr. Spano, 54
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Joseph Berger (April 26, 1996). "When County Politics Is a Family Business;Westchester Feels the Spanos' Presence". The New York Times. Retrieved August 1, 2011. Nicholas, now 42, and Michael, 32, were both Republican district leaders in Yonkers at 18. Nicholas won his bid for the Assembly at 25.
^ ^a ^b Danny Hakim (November 5, 2006). "Small Senate Battle, Big Names". Yonkers Professionals Network. Retrieved August 1, 2011. Former President Bill Clinton, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Eliot Spitzer, David Paterson and Andrew Cuomo all made their pitch for Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who lost by 18 votes to Senator Nicholas Spano in 2004.
^ Glenn Blain (April 25, 2007). "Introducing Nick Spano, real estate agent". Politics on the Hudson. Retrieved August 1, 2011. At a press conference in Yonkers this morning, Spano was introduced as the latest addition to Prudential Rand's Commercial Services division. Spano, who received his real estate license a week ago, described his new job as an outgrowth of his work in the Senate.
^ Joseph Berger (April 2, 2010). "Yonkers campus sells for $14 million". Yonkers Professionals Network. Archived from the original on October 22, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2011. Rand Commercial Services brokered the sale for both buyer and seller. Adler and Nicholas Spano, a Rand agent and former state senator from Yonkers, negotiated the sale.
^ "Executive Team". Empire Strategic Planning. Archived from the original on April 8, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
^ Lee, Lindsay (2023-05-23). "A Rally Against Nepotism Foreshadowed Another Story on Potential Spano Impropriety". The Yonkers Ledger. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
^ Schweber, Nate (June 19, 2012). "Jail for Ex-Westchester Legislator in Tax Case". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
^ "Former New York State Senator Nick Spano Pleads Guilty To Fraud". www.parentadvocates.org. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
^ "LISTENERS ANGERED BY SINEAD O'CONNOR". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. 1990-08-28. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.

External links

Senator Nicholas A. Spano's legislative web site at the Wayback Machine (archive index)

New York State Assembly
Preceded by Thomas J. McInerney	Member of the New York State Assembly from the 87th district 1979–1982	Succeeded by Peter M. Sullivan
Preceded by George Friedman	Member of the New York State Assembly from the 83rd district 1983–1986	Succeeded by Terence M. Zaleski
New York State Senate
Preceded by John E. Flynn	Member of the New York State Senate from the 35th district 1987–2006	Succeeded by Andrea Stewart-Cousins