Rudolph “Rudy” Giuliani served as the Republican mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. During his tenure, this influential politician was credited with a dramatic drop in both violent and “quality-of-life” crimes across the metropolis. He earned widespread praise for his leadership in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. However, his tough-on-crime approach wasn’t without its critics, as some New Yorkers bristled at his heavy-handed governing style. For more on Giuliani’s life and career, check out manhattanyes.com.
New York’s Top Prosecutor: Tackling High-Profile Cases
Born on May 28, 1944, in Brooklyn to Italian immigrants Harold and Helen, the future politician grew up with a father who despised Italian Americans who brought shame to their community. In 1960, Harold noticed a lack of federal judges of Italian descent in New York and convinced his son to pursue a career in law enforcement. Rudy graduated from Manhattan College with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1965 and earned a law degree from New York University three years later, graduating with honors. In 1970, he became an assistant federal prosecutor in the Southern District. By the age of 30, he was the third-highest-ranking prosecutor there.
One of the federal cases Giuliani handled in the 1970s involved persuading NYPD detective Robert Leuci to work undercover and report on police corruption. Based on the evidence gathered, 52 New York police officers were indicted on corruption charges. Giuliani also secured a conviction against U.S. Congressman Bertram Podell, a Brooklyn Democrat who served a few months in federal prison for accepting a $41,000 bribe.
Rudy quickly earned recognition and respect among his peers, and he rapidly climbed the career ladder. A recommendation from the federal judge he’d clerked for led to his appointment as an assistant attorney general under President Gerald Ford in 1975. After Ford’s defeat to Democrat Jimmy Carter in the 1976 presidential election, Harold Tyler took Giuliani on as a partner at a corporate law firm in Manhattan. Rudy worked there until 1981, during which time he switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican. Thanks to his strong connections, he was then appointed as an associate attorney general.
Giuliani’s next major career move came in 1983 when he was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Southern District. Upon taking office, he made it clear that his top priority was to combat organized crime in New York, home to the leaders of the so-called “Five Families.” He read the memoirs of mob boss Joseph Bonanno, “A Man of Honor,” which described his meetings with the bosses of the other four families—the Colombo, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese. These families were known as the “Commission” and had been meeting in secret since 1931 to settle disputes, vet new members, approve murders, and divvy up money from their rackets. Soon, Giuliani received permission from Washington to bring a case against the Commission. The investigation involved roughly 350 FBI agents and 100 police detectives.
By 1985, Giuliani had secured indictments against a long list of New York Mafia leaders and their associates. Another major Mafia case that came across his desk was the “Pizza Connection.” In this case, former mob boss Gaetano Badalamenti and a member of the Bonanno crime family, Catalano, were charged with running an international operation to smuggle and sell $1.6 billion worth of heroin and cocaine. 18 defendants were convicted in 1987.
In 1989, after six years, Rudy left his post as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, arguably as the most prominent law enforcement figure in the country. After his career as a Mafia buster, Giuliani turned to electoral politics, running for NYC mayor as a Republican. He lost in 1989 to Democrat David Dinkins. Afterward, Rudy worked as a private attorney and ran for mayor again in 1993, this time winning the race.
New York City Mayor
As mayor, Giuliani was determined to reduce the city’s crime rate, which at the time was considered the crime capital of the country. He implemented a “broken windows” policy, which was based on a zero-tolerance approach to minor offenses like vandalism and panhandling. His administration is credited with a 56% decrease in major crimes in New York during their eight years in office. Additionally, the city saw a 66% drop in murders and a 70% reduction in gun-related incidents. Giuliani also frequently ordered police sweeps to clear Lower Manhattan of petty drug dealers. He introduced the CompStat crime-measurement computer system, which was later adopted by police departments nationwide. Beyond crime, the mayor also supported gay rights, gun control, and abortion rights.
Critics, however, accused Rudy of exacerbating racial tensions, specifically by prioritizing loyalty over competence among his staff. He was also criticized for what some saw as self-promotion and for supporting questionable police tactics. Tensions came to a head in March 1999 when four white detectives fatally shot Amadou Diallo, an unarmed African immigrant. Giuliani also sparked controversy by eliminating the affirmative action program for minority and female contractors. He cut hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers from the welfare rolls and attempted to defund the Brooklyn Museum over an exhibition he deemed anti-Catholic.
Presidential Bid and Donald Trump’s Defender
In 2000, Rudy Giuliani ran for the U.S. Senate against First Lady Hillary Clinton. However, he withdrew his candidacy in May of that year amid reports of an extramarital affair with pharmaceutical executive Judith Nathan.
In the final three months of his term, Giuliani became a national figure following the September 2001 terrorist attacks, where planes crashed into the famous Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, causing both skyscrapers to collapse and killing nearly 3,000 people. Rudy personally visited the scene, regularly updating residents on the rescue efforts as hope for the missing faded with each passing day, and promised that the city would recover and would not be intimidated.
In February 2007, Giuliani announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2008 election. However, he placed third in the Florida primary. In January 2008, he dropped out of the race and endorsed John McCain.
In 2017, Donald Trump’s transition team hired Giuliani as an advisor, and in April 2018, he became one of Trump’s personal lawyers. In this high-profile role, Rudy became a key figure in the official investigation into Trump’s impeachment, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced on September 24, 2019.