Frank D. O'Connor

Frank D. O'Connor
6th President of the New York City Council
In office January 1, 1966 – December 31, 1968
Preceded by	Paul R. Screvane
Succeeded by	Francis X. Smith
35th District Attorney of Queens County
In office January 1, 1956 – December 31, 1965
Preceded by	T. Vincent Quinn
Succeeded by	Nat H. Hentel
Member of the New York State Senate
In office January 1, 1949 – December 31, 1952
Preceded by	Charles T. Corey
Succeeded by	Bernard Tompkins
Constituency	6th district
In office January 1, 1955 – December 31, 1955
Preceded by	Thomas J. Cuite
Succeeded by	Bernard Tompkins
Constituency	8th district
Personal details
Born	December 20, 1909 Manhattan, New York City, New York
Died	December 2, 1992(1992-12-02) (aged 82) Flushing, Queens, New York City
Political party	Democratic
Education	Newtown High School
Alma mater	Niagara University Brooklyn Law School

Frank D. O'Connor (December 20, 1909 – December 2, 1992) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Life

O'Connor was born on December 20, 1909, in Manhattan, New York City, the son of Irish immigrants. He grew up in Elmhurst and graduated from Newtown High School and Niagara University in 1932, and from Brooklyn Law School in 1934. He served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II. He later practiced law in Queens and became active in politics as a Democrat.

He was a member of the New York State Senate (6th Dist.) from 1949 to 1952, sitting in the 167th and 168th New York State Legislatures. In November 1952, he ran for re-election, but was defeated by Republican Bernard Tompkins.

O'Connor gained fame as a lawyer in 1953, when he defended Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero, a bass player at the Stork Club falsely accused of armed robbery. The story was the basis of the 1956 Alfred Hitchcock movie, The Wrong Man, in which O'Connor was portrayed by Anthony Quayle.

O'Connor was again a member of the State Senate (8th Dist.) in 1955. In November 1955, he was elected as District Attorney of Queens County, and remained in office from 1956 to 1965. He was a delegate to the 1960 and 1964 Democratic National Conventions. In 1966, he was the Democratic Party nominee for Governor of New York, losing to Nelson Rockefeller. He was President of the New York City Council from 1966 to 1968.

O'Connor was a justice of the New York Supreme Court from 1969 to 1979, and an Official Referee (i.e. a senior judge on an additional seat) of the Supreme Court from 1980 to 1985. From 1976 to 1985, he sat on the Appellate Division.

He died on December 2, 1992, in Booth Memorial Hospital in Flushing, Queens, from head injuries he had suffered 13 days earlier when he fell down a flight of stairs at his home.

References

• Biography of Frank D. O'Connor, New York City Department of Parks
• Frank D. O'Connor, 82, Is Dead; Retired New York Appellate Judge in The New York Times on December 3, 1992