Our extended ethnic community lost a giant recently, the highly respected Lawrence J. Ferolie, distinguished lawyer and leading Italian American in Rockford. Lawrence, 90, loved his family, the law and Italy. Larry passed away on Sunday, July 29, 2012, in his home, having lived in Rockford for all but one of those years when he went to his mother’s birthplace, Gallarate, Italy to go to school for a year and receive his First Holy Communion. He made over 30 trips to Italy, reconnecting his American family with the Italian cousins his mother sent care packages to during World War II. …

This month we highlight the distinguished career of Philip J. Castogiovanni, assistant general counsel for the international firm of Beam Inc. Beam is the producer of brand-name spirits like Jim Beam bourbon and Skinny Girl cocktails, among other highly recognized and successful products. One does not become a general counsel of a multinational multibillion-dollar corporation without having great talent and experience in the practice of law. Philip previously worked at the highly respected national firm of McDermot, Will & Emery as a compensation and benefits partner, a very complicated and specialized area of the law. Though Phil was successful in …

In June 2013, Al Salvino began his 50th year in the investment industry, with more than 30 years at William Blair & Company. It is a record that represents stability, dependability and loyalty to both his clients and the firm. Al joined William Blair in 1988 and became a partner of the firm in 1990. When sons Tom and John joined the firm, they formed the Salvino Wealth Management Team. Partners of the firm, they strongly believe that the team approach is one of the keys to their success. “We admire the Mayo Clinic model,” says John. Founded by a …

Allow me to introduce you to Joseph P. Matty, executive director of alumni relations and alumni association at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. Many prominent folks from our ethnicity and our community have significant leadership roles at NIU along with Joe Matty. For example, the newest dean at the law school, Jennifer Rosato, is the first ever Italian-American female dean of any American law school. Judge Anthony Iosco serves as president of the Alumni Association Board, with Judge Rod Equi serving as president of the Alumni Association Board of the law school. Anthony D’Andrea, whose career was previously highlighted in …

My wonderful editor, Paul Basile, who recommends subjects for this column from time to time, faxed me an article from an old edition of the Washington Post with the headline “The ‘Last American Tourist’ Flees Beijing.” The article, dated June 13, 1989, identifies this month’s subject, Daniel Nardini, as “the last American tourist,” a dedicated educator and journalist. The article describes Nardini’s misfortune to arrive in Beijing on June 3, 1989, the night tanks and troops smashed into Tiananmen Square to recapture it from student demonstrators, as we vividly recall only too well. Nardini’s adventures and travels to the Far …

This month we highlight the distinguished career of Joseph R. Curcio, one of the true leaders throughout the legal profession and especially in the Italian-American legal community. Frankly, I’ve been after Mr. Curcio for years to permit me to highlight his distinguished career, one that our community should know about and an individual that we can all be proud of and respect greatly. Perhaps, because of his Calabrian roots, he has been adamant about his quasi-anonymity and with great humility has prohibited me from telling our community about all that he means to the younger lawyers that have come along …

The John Marshall Law School Alumni Association Board recently announced the 2010 recipients of its prestigious Distinguished Service Award. Three of the recipients are people from our community: retired Circuit Court Judge Nicholas Pomaro, Salvatore “Sam” Tornatore and Mary Ann (Iantorno) Hynes. The announcement was made by the president of the Alumni Association Board of this 120-year-old law school, Katherine Amari, who also serves as president-elect of the Justinian Society of Lawyers. The Distinguished Service Award was created to recognize graduates and their contributions to the school, the profession and to the community. These recipients are hard-working members of the …

This month, we highlight the distinguished career of Carl Gigante, one of the more esteemed and successful lawyers in the Illinois legal profession and an outstanding member of our ethnic community. Carl achieved recognition as one of the leading lawyers in Illinois in the most complicated field of eminent domain law. Gigante is the second son of Joseph, a motion picture projectionist, and Annette Gigante, a homemaker. Gigante’s older brother, Joe, is a family physician in the western suburbs. The Gigante brothers grew up in the Far West Side’s Galewood neighborhood in a Chicago-style bungalow. They were raised in the …

Over the last 25 years or so, we have read in the pages of Chicagoland ethnic and legal publications about Joseph M. Gagliardo, past president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans. We learned about Joe when he was president of the Justinian Society of Lawyers, who distinguished himself in that position. We appreciate him for being a founder and charter board member of the political voice of our community, our Italian American Political Coalition. The January 2011 edition of Super Lawyers, a highly respected legal publication, listed Joe as one of the “Top Attorneys in Illinois” and because …

This month we posthumously highlight the distinguished career of a giant in the business world, a trailblazer and legend in the Italian-American community. Nello V. Ferrara passed, after a full and successful life, in early February 2012. Mr. Ferrara was Chairman of the Board of Ferrara Pan Candy Company of Forest Park, which was founded by his father, Salvatore Ferrara, in 1908. Completing his education in 1942, when he graduated from DePaul University Law School, earning his Doctorate of Juris Prudence, Nello Ferrara subsequently became a member of the Illinois Bar. At that time, there were probably less than 100 …