Vincent Pizzuto

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Vincent Pizzuto, 89, of Huguenot, a respected retired state Supreme Court justice, law professor, and loving family man, died Tuesday at home.

Born in Manhattan, he lived in Brooklyn for 50 years before moving to Huguenot.

Mr. Pizzuto served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

He earned his bachelor's degree from City College of New York, Manhattan, and received his juris doctorate from St. John University School of Law in 1960.

Mr. Pizzuto was elected to the Supreme Court bench in Kings County (civil division) in 1980, and served in the post until 1992. He then was appointed by Gov. Mario Cuomo to the Appellate Division, Second Department, and served from 1986 to 1998. He was first appointed as a Judicial Hearing Officer, assigned to Richmond County Supreme Court, in September 1999 and later recertified, with his final term ending in December 2010.

Throughout the 1990s, he also taught law as an adjunct professor at his legal alma mater.

"Justice Pizzuto was an outstanding jurist, and when he retired, after a brilliant career on the bench, he served as a judicial hearing officer here on Staten Island, presiding over many important and complex cases. He was so highly regarded that many of the judges would seek his counsel on legal matters during his tenure... More importantly, he was a kind and gentle man who will be sorely missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his loving and caring family" said Administrative Judge for Staten Island, Philip G. Minardo.

In his leisure time, Mr. Pizzuto enjoyed gardening and painting, and several of his paintings hang in the Third County Courthouse in Historic Richmond Town.

He was a parishioner of Our Lady Star of the Sea R.C. Church, Huguenot.

His wife of 42 years, Frances, died in 1996.

Surviving are his daughters, Maria Pinto, Gina Fink, and Ninfa Chiarello; his sister, Jeanne Addessi, and four grandchildren.

The funeral will be Saturday from the Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home, Tottenville, with a mass at 9:45 a.m. in Our Lady Star of the Sea Church. Burial will follow in St. Charles Cemetery, Farmingdale, L.I.

Services: Our Lady Star of the Sea RC Church Saturday, July9,2011 9:45AM

Visitation: Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home Thursday, July 7,2011 7-9PM Friday, July 8,2011 2-4 & 7-9PM

Memorials: In lieu of flowers, contributions to St. Jude's Childrens Hospital would be appreciated.

Cemetery: St. Charles Cemetery

Location: Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home

Church: Our Lady Star of the Sea R.C.Church