Born in Jersey City and raised in Weehawken, Counsellor-at-Law Thomas M. Venino, Jr. is the managing partner of Venino & Venino, Esqs., of North Bergen, a firm established by his grandfather Otto Venino, Jr. in 1913, and then located in Union City.
A graduate of Regis High School in New York City, Tom Venino went on to achieve a bachelor’s degree in political science, cum laude, in 1974 in Jersey City, and then went on to achieve a juris doctorate degree from Fordham University in New York in 1977. He has been granted admission to the New Jersey Bar, U.S. District Court/N.J., U.S. Tax Court, and the United States Supreme Court.
Becoming a lawyer was his way of reaching out to his community, said Mr. Venino, and he and his family have deep roots in Weehawken, as well as North Hudson County, as the family and firm both grew larger and expanded their professional expertise in the field of law.
The current patriarch of the family and firm is his father Thomas M. Venino, Sr., and his brothers Richard P. Venino and Paul E. Venino, and sister-in-law Joanne Venino also are lawyers. His lovely wife Mieke Venino is the legal office assistant. Brother Richard Venino is also the current Weehawken Township Attorney to Mayor Richard Turner, and sister-in-law Joanne Venino was a former deputy mayor to former Weehawken Mayor Stanley Iacono. Thomas Venino, Sr. was also a former Weehawken Municipal Court Judge and Township Attorney. Mr. Venino has two other sisters Dianne and Dorothy, who are not lawyers, and tells us that his beloved mother Joan is now deceased.
Their law practice concentrations are commercial and chancery litigation, commercial and residential real estate, corporate, estate planning, guardianships and trusts, municipal court/violations, among others. They also perform pro-bono legal work, and Mr. Venino is a trustee for the Palisades Emergency Residential Corporation (PERC), of Union City, whose Executive Director is Emory Edwards of Union City and Jersey City.
He has also been the general counsel for the Weehawken Volunteer First Aid Squad for the past 30-years, whose overseer is Jeffrey Welz, the Weehawken Township Public Safety Director. Mr. Venino also represents Palisades General Medical Center in North Bergen.
In his off-legal hours, Mr. Venino, Jr. tells us that he likes to listen to the music of The Grateful Dead and Bruce Springsteen and said that he played the piano as a youth. He has traveled to Holland and speaks the Dutch language. He also likes to read political current events, and novels, and likes to visit museums and go to the theater in Manhattan.
However, law is his passion, and he loves courtroom challenges and corporate law. He loves his family practice, and cherishes it greatly! Counsellor Thomas M. Venino Jr. – All The Best!
North Bergen Police Chief William “Bill” Galvin’s second wedding anniversary to his lovely wife Adamarys, is coming up in July. Congratulations to the Galvin’s. Moreover, people On The Streets Where We Live are telling this columnist that his police department is highly thought of, and that he runs it well. This is also good news for Public Safety Commissioner Theresa Ferraro, the lovely Grand Dame of North Bergen. Keep up the great work!
Guttenberg Mayor Gerald Drasheff tells us that he was very happy that Police Officer Laura Sorto, newly promoted to full-time police officer status, was recently named a “Police Officer of the Month.” Her departmental superiors are Guttenberg Police Captain Joel Magenheimer and Public Safety Director Michael Caliguiro of West New York. Police Officer Sorto is a resident of Secaucus, and Mayor Drasheff tells us that he has been hearing many good reports about her police work. The way to go, Police Officer Laura Sorto!
Reverend Christian P. Jaramillo, parochial vicar of Saint Joseph and Saint Michael Parish in Union City, has also been appointed to the Metropolitan Tribunal for two years, announced Archbishop John J. Myers of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey. Congratulations Father Jaramillo!
Checking in on former Union City elected Commissioner Rhyta Musto, she tells us she had a very Happy Easter with her family. Mrs. Musto is the wife of the deceased legendary State Senator and Union City Mayor William V. Musto. It is good to seek-out old friends. Rhyta Musto, many more Happy Holidays!
Secaucus Councilwoman Susan Pirro tells us that she has been in a whirlwind of activity as a council member, and working with Mayor Michael Gonnelli for the betterment of the Town of Secaucus has been very gratifying. Best wishes to Sue Pirro, and her new council venture!
We hear that West New Yorker Cosmo Cirillo, the West New York Assistant Town Clerk, has been moving in the right direction with the Union City/West New York Rotary Club he founded, as more new members have joined. Mr. Cirillo, keep up the great community work you are doing, because good community and government is the ultimate good policy!
And so it goes … until next time …see you around town …MATT
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