Steven P. Perskie

Steven P. Perskie (born January 10, 1945 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a former New Jersey Superior Court judge in Atlantic City, New Jersey and a former Democratic Party politician from Margate City, New Jersey. Perskie served as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly, where he represented the 2nd Legislative District from 1971 to 1977. He was elected to the New Jersey Senate in 1977. Perskie served as Chief of Staff to New Jersey Governor James Florio from 1989 - 1990 and as the third chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission from 1990 to 1994. Outside politics Perskie worked as both a corporate and private practice attorney.

Steven P. Perskie
Chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission
In office
1990–1994
Preceded byWalter Newton Read
Succeeded byBradford S. Smith
Member of the New Jersey Senate
from the 2nd district
In office
January 10, 1978 – June 28, 1982
Preceded byJoseph McGahn
Succeeded byWilliam Gormley
Member of the New Jersey General Assembly
from the 2nd district
In office
January 11, 1972 – January 10, 1978
Preceded bySamuel A. Curcio
Albert S. Smith
Succeeded byWilliam Gormley
Michael J. Matthews
Personal details
Born (1945-01-10) January 10, 1945
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
Residence(s)Margate City, New Jersey

Early life

Perskie attended Atlantic City High School. In 1966, he graduated from Yale University and in 1969 earned a law degree at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. In 1970, he earned a masters in taxation from New York University.[1]

Career

Perskie was elected to the New Jersey General Assembly in 1971 at age 26, and re-elected in 1973 and 1975.[2] As an assemblyman, he was the primary advocate and sponsor for the introduction of casino gaming in Atlantic City and was responsible for drafting what would become the New Jersey Casino Control Act.[3][4]

Party leadership at the Democratic convention in 1977 roundly supported Perskie over sitting Senator Joseph McGahn by a margin of 266 to 77.[5][6] McGahn ran in the general election as an independent, with Perskie beating both McGahn and Republican candidate Frederick Perone.[7] Perskie and McGahn had won election to the Legislature together in 1971, despite the Republicans 4-1 edge in voter registration.[6]

In 1981, Perskie was again challenged in the general election by McGahn, who ran as a Republican.[6] Perskie won reelection with 29,151 votes, defeating McGahn, who received 28,149.[8]

Perskie was appointed an Atlantic County Superior Court Judge in 1982. In 1989, he resigned from the bench to manage James Florio's successful gubernatorial campaign. He served as Florio's Chief of Staff from 1989 to 1990.

Perskie was appointed as Chairman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission in 1990 and served in that capacity until 1994. During his tenure, Perskie spearheaded a comprehensive restructuring of the agency.[9] On March 29, 1994, he announced his resignation from the Casino Control Commission to become Vice President and General Counsel of Players International, an operator of riverboat casinos with no interests in New Jersey.[10] In 1996, Perskie left Players and entered into private law practice. In 2001, Perskie was reappointed to the bench and was confirmed for permanent tenure in December 2008.

In September 2009, the New Jersey Supreme Court's Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct filed a complaint alleging that Perskie misled a State Senate panel regarding a potential conflict of interest.[1] On August 1, 2011, the New Jersey Supreme Court determined that he did not intentionally mislead the State Senate panel.[11]

On February 1, 2010, Perskie retired from the bench and joined the law firm of Perskie, Mairone, Brog & Baylinson in Linwood, New Jersey to open a mediation / arbitration practice.[12]

On October 10, 2018, Perskie was inducted into the Gaming Hall of Fame. The selection committee lauded his transformative work in the creation and oversight of gaming regulation in New Jersey, which served as a template for gaming across the country and paved the way for the evolution of the industry in its current form.[13][14]

Family

Perskie is the son of former Atlantic County Judge David M. Perskie, who sat on the bench from 1966 to 1969, and the grandson of former New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Joseph B. Perskie, who served from 1933 to 1947.[2] He is the nephew of Marvin D. Perskie, who served as an Assemblyman in the New Jersey State Legislature from 1965 to 1967.[15]

References
  1. "Atlantic County Judge Steven Perskie may have lied to state Senate panel, complaint alleges", The Press of Atlantic City, September 11, 2009.
  2. "Happy Birthday to Steve Perskie, 21 years younger than Frank Lautenberg", www.politickernj.com, January 10, 2008.
  3. Wittkowski, Donald. "Perskie says government could have done more during 30 years of gambling", The Press of Atlantic City, September 23, 2009. Accessed October 29, 2009. "'I think government collectively, in retrospect, didn't do what it could have done,' said Perskie, who authored the New Jersey Casino Control Act when he was a state assemblyman in the 1970s and now serves as a Superior Court judge."
  4. "Casino Control: Setting the Bar" Archived 2012-02-17 at the Wayback Machine, Global Gaming Business, Vol. 7 No. 5, May 2008. "Perskie, who would go on to serve as perhaps the most influential head of the Casino Control Commission during the 1990s, says he actually drafted and published what would become the Casino Control Act before the 1976 election, so voters would get a complete picture of what the casinos would look like."
  5. Waldron, Martin. "Income Tax Fails as Issue in Legislative Primaries; Dugan and Mrs. Ammond Defeated in Senate Races", The New York Times, June 9, 1977.
  6. Sullivan, Joseph L. "Politics; 2 longtime allies squaring off", The New York Times, September 27, 1981.
  7. Narvaez, Alfonso. "Easy Triumph by Governor Helps Democrats Keep Trenton Control", The New York Times, November 9, 1977.
  8. "Totals for vote in elections in city, suburbs and nearby states; key to symbols", The New York Times, November 5, 1981.
  9. Stephen P. Perskie, New Jersey Casino Control Commission website, accessed February 17, 2014.
  10. "Casino panel's chief steps down", The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 30, 1994.
  11. "State Supreme Court censures retired Atlantic County Judge Steven Perskie for ethics violations", The Press of Atlantic City, August 1, 2011.
  12. "Former Superior Court Judge Steven Perskie joins Linwood law firm", The Press of Atlantic City, February 1, 2010.
  13. "Perskie, key player in NJ politics for four decades, named to Gaming Hall of Fame", New Jersey Globe, September 27, 2018.
  14. Stutz, Howard (October 10, 2018). "Gaming Hall of Fame membership grows by four with induction of Carlino, Haddrill, Hannifin and Perskie". CDC Gaming Reports. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  15. Metz, Robert. "Market Place; Is the Die Cast on Resorts International?", The New York Times, October 22, 1976. Accessed July 22, 2013. "They are Marvin D. Perskie of Avalon, the uncle of Assemblyman Steven P. Perskie of Atlantic City, and Patrick T. McGahn of Atlantic City, the brother of State Senator Joseph L. McGahn of Absecon."
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