Peter Tomasello Jr. (1900 – November 17, 1960)[1] was a politician in Florida. He was elected to serve in the Florida House of Representatives in 1928,[2] and served until 1940.[3] He served as Speaker of the Florida House from 1933 to 1935.[1][3] He had first stood for the speaker of the house position for the 1931 session but lost to E. Clay Lewis Jr.[4]

Photo of Peter Tomasello Jr. and members of his family at the unveiling of his Florida House Speaker portrait (1959)

He was born in 1900 in Pinewood, Santa Rosa County, Florida.[5] His father immigrated from Austria and worked his way up in the limber business.[6] Jr. had a lumber mill.[7]

He had served as a private in the Florida national guard in World War I achieving the rank of sergeant before retiring from service.[5]

He was a candidate in the 1936 Florida gubernatorial election where he came third out of thirteen.[3] He met with gambling interests.[8][9]

He died in a private hospital in Forest Park, Georgia November 17, 1960, he had been living in Forest Park for 14 years.[3] He was survived by his wife Elizabeth Tomasello (née Carter) and his son Jerome Tomasello.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Ex-Speaker of the House celebrated with portrait in the chamber – Tallahassee, Florida". Florida Memory. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Here is the roster of new solons in ligislature". Tallahassee Democrat. 17 December 1928. p. 3. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Peter Tomasello dies in Georgia". The Orlando Sentinel. 18 November 1960. p. 3. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Whitaker to head Senate". The Tampa Tribune. 7 April 1931. p. 1. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Good Political Timber (Peter Tomasello Jr.)". Tallahassee Democrat. 2 June 1933. p. 4. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Peter Tomassello". www.flaglercountyfamilies.com.
  7. ^ "The Southern Lumberman". 1960.
  8. ^ Ogden, Christopher (11 November 2009). Legacy: A Biography of Moses and Walter Annenberg. Little, Brown. ISBN 9780316092449.
  9. ^ Cockburn, Alexander (1988). Corruptions of Empire: Life Studies & the Reagan Era. Verso. ISBN 9780860919407.