Former Glen Cove Mayor, Judge Joseph Suozzi honored in Italian hometown

The Italian village of Ruvo del Monte honored native son Joseph Suozzi, the former mayor of Glen Cove and a former judge, by marking his place of birth on Saturday.

"It was a very moving experience. It's very emotional that my father’s going to be recognized in this way," his son Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) said in a phone interview.

The congressman said about 200 people attended the ceremony, including distant relatives who still live in town, officials from Glen Cove's sister city in Italy, Sturno, and 12 members of the Long Island Suozzi family.

The plaque marks the place where Giuseppe Suozzi -- Joseph A. Suozzi -- was born. Thomas Suozzi said his mother had worked in the old castle in the town.

Joseph Suozzi was born in the southern Italian village in 1921 and immigrated to New York in 1925 with his mother, Rosa Ciampa. He died October 16, 2016, at the age of 95.

Joseph Suozzi served as a B-24 navigator stationed in Italy during World War II and returned home to attend Harvard Law School under the GI Bill. He served as Glen Cove's mayor from 1956 to 1960, and served two terms as a state Supreme Court justice and was later appointed an appellate division justice.