Charles Raffa (c. 1904 - 1988) was an Italian emigrant to New York City who became a successful businessman. He was the father of Matilda Cuomo, and the maternal grandfather of Andrew Cuomo. [1]
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Raffa was born circa 1904 and emigrated to the United States from Messina, Italy in 1927. He was married to Mary Gitto, and had five children, Frank, Matilda, Sam, Joseph and Nancy. He maintained homes in East Flatbush, New York and New Jersey.
He worked as a laborer when he first immigrated from Italy. Later, he founded his own business, which became highly successful building supermarket shelves and refrigeration units. He used the proceeds from this company to invest in real estate, buying up dozens of residential and commercial properties in New York. [2]
In 1984, Raffa was assaulted in an abandoned grocery store he owned. He was badly beaten and later received plastic surgery. Despite medical intervention, he never fully recovered and was confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of his life. He succumbed to his illness at the Jewish Center for Geriatric Care in Long Island in 1988. Following his death, his descendants feuded over who should receive shares of his estate, valued at between $5 million and $13 million. [3]
Mario Matthew Cuomo was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party, Cuomo previously served as the lieutenant governor of New York from 1979 to 1982 and the secretary of state of New York from 1975 to 1978. He was the father of former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and NewsNation anchor Christopher Cuomo.
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The 1982 New York gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New York. Incumbent Democratic Governor Hugh Carey chose not to run for a third term, which resulted in an open race. Democratic nominee Mario Cuomo, the Lieutenant Governor of New York, narrowly defeated Republican Lewis Lehrman, a banker who ran as a conservative.
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