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Board of Trustees
Honorable Francis A. Nicolai, Chairman of the Board
Domenick Ciaccia, Vice Chairman & Treasurer
James J. Veneruso, Esq. Corporate Secretary & Legal Counsel
Joseph Armentano
Rose Cali
John F. Calvelli
Michael A. Caruso
Domenico Delli Carpini
Honorable Janet DiFiore
Jonathan Giannettino
Andrew J. Spano
Maria Masciotti, Executive Director
Board of Trustees
Honorable Francis A. Nicolai, Chairman of the Board
The Honorable Francis A. Nicolai, Presiding Justice of the Appellate Term and former Administrative Judge of the Ninth Judicial District, was born in Pleasantville, New York in 1939. He graduated from the United States Coast Guard Academy in 1961, and after serving our country for 12 years in active service in Greenland, Italy and Viet Nam, he retired in 1973.
Judge Nicolai received his JD from New York Law School in 1970 and was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1971. He was in private practice from 1973-1982 in Rockland and Westchester Counties. He was appointed a County Court Judge by Governor Hugh Carey in 1982 and again by Governor Mario Cuomo in 1983. He was elected in 1990 as a Justice of the Supreme Court, Ninth Judicial District. In December 1998 he was appointed the Administrative Judge by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman. In November 2004 he was elected a Westchester County Court Judge.
Judge Nicolai is a life-long resident of Westchester County. He and his wife Allene are the parents of three children - Angelique, Erica and Noelle. As Chairman and representative of the Westchester Italian Culture Center, Judge Nicolai brings a very special warmth and charisma to the role. His personal goal is to make everyone who visits the Center feel welcomed and valued.
Domenick Ciaccia, Vice Chairman & Treasurer
Domenick Ciaccia is President and CEO of Universal Commodities (Tea) Trading, Inc. (UCTT), one of the largest importers of tea to North America. UCTT represents major tea growers in tea producing countries worldwide and sells to the major tea brands as well as to specialty and gourmet tea providers. It also provides expertise in market intelligence, shipping and finance as well knowledge of tea cultivation and processing. Domenick is very active with the United States Tea Association, a trade organization with offices in New York City and is a member of various committees dealing with issues relating to global transportation and the customs-trade partnership against terrorism program (C-TPAT).
Domenick is the founder and Chairman of the American Friends of Bitetto, a not-for-profit educational and cultural organization dedicated to promoting the beautification and conservation of the medieval historical town of Bitetto, Italy.
In addition to his role as Vice Chairman of the Westchester Italian Cultural Center, Domenick also serves as Treasurer, Executive Committee member, and founder of the Academic & Arts Program with Professor-in-Residence Rutigliano. This program sponsors lectures on a variety of Italian cultural subjects and provides internships to college students in the tri-state area. The program also funds the WICC Library which focuses on the accomplishments and contributions of Italian-Americans, as well as Italian Arts and Literature.
Active in his local community, Domenick supports children’s sports programs by way of coaching, administration and fundraising. Born in Bari, Italy, Domenick was raised in the Bronx, New York where he attended Cardinal Hayes High School. He graduated from Iona College in 1980 with a B.A. in International Studies. Domenick and his wife Sue reside in White Plains with their three daughters Jacqueline, Stefanie, and Jessica.
James J. Veneruso, Esq. Corporate Secretary & Legal Counsel
James J. Veneruso is a managing partner at Veneruso, Curto, Schwartz & Curto, LLP. His biographical sketch appears in Who’s Who in American Law and Pre-eminent Lawyers of America. Jim’s professional and business associations include the New York State Bar Association, Florida Bar Association, Westchester County Bar Association, Columbian Lawyers Association, and the Hudson Valley Bank Business Development Board. Jim has also served on the Board of Directors of the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corp. Jim attended Widener University and New York University Law Schools. He has served as Associate Editor of the Corporate Law Review, the Editorial Board of the Westchester County Bar Journal, was a founding member of the Board of Editors of the Pace Law Review, and served as President of the John Marshall Honor Society.
Active in civic and charitable organizations, Jim sits on the Board of Habitat for Humanity and is a founding Board member of Yonkers Partners in Education, Inc. and Heartsong Inc., which provides music and art therapy programs for children with disabilities. He also served for many years on the Board of Greyston Foundation and continues to serve as its counsel. Jim was selected as the “Most Socially Conscious Attorney 2008” by Westchester County Bar Association and Pace Law School. Jim recently received the “American Dream Award” for his service to Habitat for Humanity and the “Community Leader Award” from the Sisters of St. John the Baptist.
Jim and his wife, Lillian Curto Veneruso, reside in Yonkers, New York. They have three children and two grandchildren, Isabella Grace and Ryder Jude.
Joseph Armentano
Joseph Armentano is the Chief Executive Officer of Paraco Gas Corp., a privately held propane company with $80 million in revenues, 15 locations and 250 employees. Paraco Gas is one of the top 50 United States Propane Retailers. Joseph serves on the Board of Directors of the National Propane Gas Association, the Westchester County Association, National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), Community Fund of Bronxville, Eastchester and Tuckahoe, in addition to the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce. Joseph has served as the past president of the New York State Propane Gas Association and is a former member of the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross. Joseph has been active in the Westchester Coalition for the Hungry and Homeless and Westchester Buick Classic, as well as a host of other organizations over the past 20 years.
Joseph graduated from Fordham University in 1976 with a B.A. in history and received his M.B.A. from Iona College in 1988. Joseph and his wife Nancy have two children, Christina and Christopher. A resident of Bronxville since 1984, Joseph is an avid wine collector and enjoys numerous other hobbies including skiing and tennis.
Rose Cali
Rose Cali is an education philanthropist who commits her endeavors to serve those in need. She was born and raised in New Haven, CT. and graduated in 1980, Magna Cum Laude, from Montclair State University with a B.A. in anthropology. Rose serves on the boards of Montclair State University Board, Liberty Science Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters Essex, Hudson and Union Counties, New Jersey, Saint Josephs Children's Hospital, Paterson, NJ, New Jersey Coalition for Inclusive Education, Montclair Public Library Foundation, Montclair Art Museum, NJ, and Sharron Miller's Academy for Performing Arts, NJ.
Married since 1974 to John J. Cali, the couple has five children and eight grandchildren. They currently reside in New Jersey.
John F. Calvelli
John F. Calvelli is the Executive Vice President for Public Affairs at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), a global conservation organization headquartered at the Bronx Zoo. John oversees the work of WCS in the areas of government and community affairs, public policy, and communications.
Prior to joining WCS in 2000, Calvelli served as the senior staff person to Congressman Eliot Engel (D-Bronx) in Washington, DC. He directed and supervised all legislative initiatives of Rep. Engel during his tenure on the House Energy and Commerce, Foreign Affairs, Science and Education, and Labor Committees. Prior to his work in Washington John participated in a clinical program with the Civil Division of the Office of then U.S. Attorney Rudolph Giuliani and subsequently served as Associate Counsel to the New York State Assembly.
John serves on the boards of NYC & Co; the National Italian American Foundation; the Bronx Chamber of Commerce; The Picture House Regional Film Center; and the Capitol Hill Alumni Association. He is a member of the Board of Advisors of the Fordham University President’s Council; Food Bank; WFUV Radio; and CAUSE-NY. In 1999, the Republic of Italy bestowed the honorific title of Knighthood in the Order of Merit to John for his work promoting stronger US-Italy relations.
John Calvelli graduated from Salesian High School, Fordham University, and went on to earn a law degree from Fordham Law School. John's involvement in the Italian American community had a very happy result: he met his wife Maria at Fordham University while both were active in the Italian club. John and Maria live in Pelham with their son John Domenico.
Michael A. Caruso
Michael Caruso is a principal in the Westchester Implant and Oral Surgery Group (WIOSG), a private Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery medical office in White Plains, New York. Dr. Caruso is also a partner in 4 Cromwell Place, L.L.C., a commercial property concern, where the offices for WIOSG are located.
Dr. Caruso is a board certified oral surgeon, who received his D.D.S. from Columbia University with academic distinction and was a member of Omikron Kappa Upsilon, an honor society. Dr. Caruso completed his post-graduate training in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Montefiore Medical Center. During this time he was privileged to serve on a charitable medical mission to Colombia, South America, to perform surgery on the indigent.
Dr. Caruso is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and a member of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. He is also an active member of several professional societies, including the 9th District Dental Society, the White Plains Dental Forum, the Scarsdale Dental Society and the Eastchester Dental Society. He has served as an officer for the 9th District Dental Society and sits on the boards of several professional dental committees.
Dr. Caruso resides in Yonkers with his wife, Sandra, and his 3 children. He is a member of St. Joseph’s Parish in Bronxville. He is a wine enthusiast and enjoys golf, tennis, and the outdoors.
Domenico Delli Carpini
Domenico is the Publisher and Executive Director of Circulation of America Oggi, the Italian daily language newspaper in the United States. Domenico earned a B.A. in languages (Italian with a minor in French) from CUNY, Lehman College and New York University. Domenico was awarded Cavaliere della Republica Italiana and is a recipient of the Presidential medal “Stella della Solidarieta”.
Domenico worked aggressively with Italian organizations, the Ministry of Italians Abroad and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome to include the Italian language in the national AP program in more than 500 high schools in the United States. He was also responsible for initiating the Italian American Committee on Education program sponsored by the Italian General Consulate in New York City at the Harrison Elementary and Middle Schools.
Honorable Janet DiFiore
On November 3, 2009, Judge Janet DiFiore was re-elected as the 32nd District Attorney of Westchester County. Previously she served more than ten years as an Assistant District Attorney, the last four and half of which were as the Chief of Narcotics for the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, coordinating drug enforcement and prosecution efforts. Elected as a Judge of Westchester County Court in 1998 and as a Justice of the New York State Supreme Court, D.A. DiFiore has presided over hundreds of cases in the County Court, Family Court and New York State Supreme Court.
D.A. DiFiore has effectively served on the Boards and in leadership positions of numerous professional, civic and local school organizations, including the Columbian Lawyers Association of Westchester County and the Westchester Women’s Bar Association. A life-long resident of Westchester County, D.A. DiFiore, and her husband, Dennis E. Glazer, live in Westchester County with their three children.
Jonathan Giannettino
Jonathan S. Giannettino is the Vice President of Curto’s Appliances of Yonkers. Jonathan’s background is in Internet marketing and he worked for several global media companies before joining his family’s business in 2004 as the third-generation owner. He is passionate about Italian cooking and has traveled extensively throughout Italy. With his wife Nicole, he publishes “Sunday Sauce”, an Internet blog dedicated to Italian cuisine. While living in Florence, Italy in 2002, Jonathan attended intensive Italian language classes at La Scuola Leonardo da Vinci.
Jonathan received both his B.A. and his M.B.A. from Fordham University. New parents Jonathan and Nicole now live in Yonkers with their new baby girl Scarlett.
Andrew J. Spano
Cav. Andrew J. Spano likes nothing better than getting “out there” to share ideas with the people in his community. His new radio show on WVOX, 1460AM, “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow”, provides background and perspective on the issues which drive our economy and our elections, and serves as a forum for voter education and exchange about those local and national issues.
Andy served as the Westchester County Executive from 1998-2010. He initiated dozens of programs to improve the quality of life in Westchester: preserving 2,300 acres of open space from Yonkers to Yorktown; tripling the County’s New Homes Land Acquisition Fund; expanding day care; instituting programs to protect children against predators; addressing problems such as teen drinking, smoking and obesity. In addition, Andy worked to make government more accessible through the county's award-winning website and through "Westchester Telecom". Throughout his tenure as County Executive, Andy brought Westchester into the national spotlight. As President of the New York State Association of Counties, he was successful in getting the state to reduce the cost of Medicaid to counties. A groundbreaking lawsuit against a local utility helped to reduce electric costs for consumers who were being unfairly charged higher rates.
Andy has been the recipient of numerous awards in the areas of human rights, education, government and labor, and he was awarded the title of Cavaliere by the President of Italy.
Born April 17, 1936, Andy grew up in the Bronx and holds bachelor's and master's degrees from
Fordham University. He and his wife, Brenda Resnick Spano, live in Yorktown and have six
grown children and nine grandchildren.
Maria Masciotti, Executive Director
Maria Masciotti was appointed director of the Westchester Italian Cultural Center in January 2010. Prior to joining the Cultural Center, Maria had been the Director of Principal Gifts at Weill Cornell Medical College. Maria has had a long career with several of New York City’s non-profit organizations, beginning with the Guggenheim Museum where she was Director of Special Events. Additionally, Maria was Senior Vice President for Development and Membership at the Wildlife Conservation Society, Associate Vice President for Individual Giving at The New York Botanical Garden, Senior Development Officer for City-meals-on-Wheels, and Director of Development at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center.
Maria received her undergraduate degree in Sociology from Lehman College, and her master’s degree in Public Administration and Non-Profit Management from Baruch College.
A lifelong resident of the Bronx, Maria and her husband Nick live in Throgs Neck. They have three children and twin grandsons, Ty and Jake