Gargano was born in Avellino, Italy and his family emigrated to the United States when he was 4. His family settled in the
Park Slope neighborhood in the
New York City borough of
Brooklyn. Following and in between a career in construction (including founding his own firm) Gargano served in government; first in 1981 as deputy administrator of the United States
Urban Mass Transit Administration and then from 1988 until 1991 as the United States Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago. From 1995 until 2007 Gargano served as chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation and vice chairman of the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, both positions of which he was appointed to by the then
Governor of New York State,
George Pataki. During this span Gargano was often referred to as the New York State "Economic Czar". In 2008 President
George W. Bush selected Gargano to become the next
United States Ambassador to Austria but after congressional inaction eventually the nomination was withdrawn. A Village Voice article "The Magician's Nephew" (searchable using DuckDuck Go) in which he was accused of influence peddling with his nephew attorney Frank Gargano was the main reason for the withdrawal. ==In films==