Torricelli was an assistant to the
Governor of New Jersey,
Brendan Byrne, from 1975 to 1977. In 1978, he served as associate counsel to
Vice President Walter Mondale,
U.S. Representative In 1982, Torricelli ran for U.S. Congress, defeating incumbent
Republican Harold Hollenbeck. Torricelli served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 until 1997 representing
New Jersey's 9th congressional district. Torricelli was Democratic floor leader in the Persian Gulf War discussion regarding the adoption of the "Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution" in 1991 and gave the closing speech. In 1988, Torricelli visited Cuba and stated, "Living standards are not high, but the homelessness, hunger and disease that is witnessed in much of Latin America does not appear evident." He sponsored the
Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 which prohibits U.S. trade with Cuba. Torricelli stated that the act would "wreak havoc on that island. He defended the legislation as necessary to force democratic refirm on the island and halt Castro’s export of violent revolution in Latin America. After candidate Bill Clinton endorsed the legislation, President Bush signed it." Academic Helen Yaffe writes that between Toricelli's 1988 visit and the 1992 Act, he received significant campaign contributions from the
Cuban American National Foundation.
U.S. Senator Torricelli was elected to the U.S. Senate in
1996, defeating Republican Congressman
Dick Zimmer by 291,511 votes to obtain the seat vacated by the retirement of Democratic Senator
Bill Bradley. In 2000, he headed the
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Torricelli was responsible for recruiting Senate candidates including
Hillary Clinton. As a member of the Senate Finance Committee Torricelli amended the tax code to permit the partial deduction of college tuition for the first time. After 9/11, he amended legislation to authorize a new rail tunnel to NYC. A federal criminal investigation into Torricelli was dropped in early 2002. In the summer of 2002, however, Torricelli received a formal letter of admonishment from the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics following an investigation into his alleged receipt of improper gifts from campaign donor David Chang, who had pleaded guilty to violating federal election laws. Torricelli apologized to voters for his behavior and delivered a speech in which he promised to take "'full personal responsibility'" for his actions. On September 30, 2002, Torricelli ended his
2002 re-election campaign after Republicans "successfully made the incumbent's ethics troubles -- stemming from illegal 1996 campaign donations and questionable gifts -- a campaign issue..." In 2007, Torricelli drew public criticism despite federal rules allowing retired officials to give leftover campaign funds to political parties, candidates and charities when his leftover campaign funds, given to the Rosemont Foundation, were not funneled back to his political party. The Rosemont Foundation donates funds to animal welfare charities with particular emphasis on dog shelters. During his time in the Senate, Torricelli was a member of the
Governmental Affairs Committee, the
Finance Committee, and the
Rules Committee.
Post-congressional career In 2003, Torricelli was appointed by the U.S. Federal District Court as special master overseeing the environmental cleanup project of the Mutual Chemical site in Jersey City, New Jersey, owned by the Honeywell Corporation. Torricelli founded business and government affairs consulting firm Rosemont Associates. He is a partner in real estate firm Woodrose Properties, which is invested in over 50 multi family or commercial properties in 10 states. Torricelli has represented the
Iranian opposition group, the MEK. ==Personal life==