Philip G. Minardo, Staten Island’s Legal Luminary, Passes Away at 82

Retired New York State Supreme Court Justice Philip G. Minardo, who served as Staten Island’s administrative judge when the borough’s court system attained full autonomy, died early Sunday morning at Richmond University Medical Center. He was 82.

Minardo, who had been a lawyer for nearly 60 years, had been re-certified three times to continue serving on the bench after turning 70. He retired in 2017. He started his legal career as an associate district attorney for Richmond County District Attorneys John Braisted and, later, Thomas Sullivan.

He worked as an attorney in private practice for 20 years until being elected to the New York State Supreme Court in 1995.

As a judge, he presided over some of the most important lawsuit cases in the borough and issued decisions that had far-reaching consequences not only for Staten Island but for the entire city.

Minardo was requested by Jonathan Lippman, the state’s chief judge, to become Richmond County’s administrative judge, making him the first to do so.

The borough’s court system then obtained entire sovereignty on January 1, 2009, when legislators created the 13th Judicial District, which separated Staten Island from Brooklyn in the Second Judicial District.

From 2005 until 2011, Minardo served as the administrative judge of Staten Island’s courts, allocating resources and assigning judges, judicial hearing officers, and other court officials, setting the framework for the borough’s legal system.

Minardo is survived by his wife of nine years, Dr. Marianne LaBarbera, and his sons, John Minardo (Jeffrey), Philip G. Minardo Jr. (Tara), Brian Minardo (Marissa), and Steven Fuentes, as well as six grandchildren, Philip G. Minardo III, Isla Rose Minardo, Chloe Grace Minardo, Laila Joan Minardo, Grace Marie Minardo, and Brian Richard Minardo, and two brothers, Anthony Minardo (Carol) and Dr. Michael Minardo (Sandra).

Harmon Home for Funerals, located in West Brighton, handles funeral preparations. Visitation is scheduled for Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.

On Thursday at 11 a.m., there will be a Mass of Christian Burial at Sacred Heart R.C. Church in West Brighton. The burial will take place in Moravian Cemetery, New Dorp.

Instead of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the Shriners Hospital for Children.