FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Contact:   Elissa Ruffino (NIAF) 202/939-3106 or elissa@niaf.org

On October 31, Judge Samuel Alito was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court. He is one of the most qualified individuals ever to be nominated to America’s high court. We at the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) are proud that he is the son of an Italian immigrant.

On the day of his nomination, the public debate regarding Judge Alito included a regrettable, but predictable, discussion of his ethnicity. Specifically, political operatives referenced a one-case failure to win a mob conviction in 1988…a not-so-subtle caution that this Italian American may be soft on organized crime. His full record demonstrates the opposite. The media in political caricature also dubbed him “Judge Scalito.”

The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that has served the Italian American community for thirty years. We believe that individuals should be judged on their achievements, not their ethnic or racial heritage. Other ethnic groups have had to defend similar attacks. Italian Americans stood by them, and we now hope that they stand by us.

We urge the media and the U.S. Senate to treat this nomination with the dignity, respect and fairness Judge Alito deserves.