Philip Giordano

Philip Anthony Giordano (born March 25, 1963) is the former Republican mayor of Waterbury, Connecticut, and a convicted sex offender. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela, to Italian parents and his family moved to the United States when he was two years old.

A lawyer, former state representative and former Marine (1981–1985), Giordano served three terms as mayor after being elected for the first time in 1995. In 2000, he unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate, losing to Joe Lieberman.

Giordano was elected mayor in 1995, defeating seven-term Democratic Mayor Edward "Mike" Bergin by 52% to 45%. He was re-elected with 53% of the vote in 1999.

During his time as mayor, he claimed to have balanced Waterbury's budget, but prior to his arrest a state oversight board had to intervene as a result of chronic pension underfunding and taking money out of the pension fund to balance the general fund. Upon Giordano's arrest in 2001, he was forced to step aside, leaving President of the Board of Aldermen Sam Caligiuri as acting mayor.

In 2000, Senator Joe Lieberman was chosen by Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore to be his Vice Presidential running mate -- and Lieberman also chose to run for a third term to the Senate (Connecticut law permits candidates running for both offices). Having little chance to defeat the very popular centrist Lieberman, few Connecticut Republicans wanted to take him on. Finally, the state GOP settled on Giordano. Lieberman focused on his Vice Presidential run and refused to show up at debates; Giordano, mostly ignored by the press, received some coverage by debating alone and mocking Lieberman. In the end, it mattered little, as voters returned the incumbent to the Senate by a nearly two-to-one margin (63% to 34%).

While investigating municipal corruption, the FBI discovered phone records and pictures of Giordano with a prostitute, as well as with her 10-year-old niece and her eight-year-old daughter. He was arrested on July 26, 2001, and, in March 2003, was convicted of 14 counts of using an interstate device, his cellphone, to arrange sexual contact with children. He was also convicted of violating the girls' civil rights. He was sentenced to 37 years in prison. In July 2007 his motion to reduce this sentence was denied by a federal judge. In 2006, Giordano sued the city for back pay resulting from sick days and vacation time.

Giordano is currently serving his 37-year sentence at the FCI Bennettsville in South Carolina, a medium security federal institution, and is scheduled for release in 2034.