Dominick J. Ruggerio

Dominick J. Ruggerio (December 19, 1948 – April 21, 2025) was a Democratic member and president of the Rhode Island Senate, who represented the 4th District since 1985. A member of the Senate since 1985, he was previously elected Majority Leader on November 10, 2010, having won election to his 14th term in the Senate on November 2, 2010. Ruggerio served as President of the Senate from 2017 until his death in 2025.

Dominick Ruggerio
3rd President of the Rhode Island Senate
In office March 24, 2017 – April 21, 2025
Preceded by	M. Teresa Paiva-Weed
Majority Leader of the Rhode Island Senate
In office January 6, 2009 – March 23, 2017
Preceded by	Daniel Connors
Succeeded by	Michael McCaffrey
Member of the Rhode Island Senate from the 4th district
In office January 3, 2005 – April 21, 2025
Preceded by	Maryellen Goodwin
In office January 3, 1985 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Rocco Quattrocchi
Succeeded by	Maryellen Goodwin
Member of the Rhode Island Senate from the 6th district
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2005
Preceded by	V. Susan Sosnowski
Succeeded by	Harold Metts
Member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives from the 6th district
In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1985
Preceded by	Albert J. Lepore
Succeeded by	Thomas J. Rossi
Personal details
Born	(1948-12-19)December 19, 1948 Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
Died	April 21, 2025(2025-04-21) (aged 76) North Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Children	2
Education	Bryant University Providence College (BS)

Background

Dominick Ruggerio graduated from La Salle Academy in 1966. Ruggerio then attended Bryant College and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1974 from Providence College. He was a retired administrator for the New England Laborers Labor Management Coop Trust, as well as a member of the board of directors for the Wanskuck Library, the Sons of Italy, Loggia Vittoria, and the DaVinci Center Development Committee.^[1]

Rhode Island Senate

As Senate President, Ruggerio served as an ex officio member of all standing Senate committees.

Ruggerio served as Majority Whip from 2003 through 2010. He had previously served as a member and as Vice Chairman of the Senate Labor Committee, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Labor and Transportation, and as a member of the Senate Finance Committee, the Senate Rules Committee, the Senate Labor Committee, and the Joint Committee on Accounts and Claims. He also previously served as Deputy Majority Leader.

Ruggerio was the “Dean” of the Rhode Island General Assembly, meaning he had served longer than any other member of the RI Senate or House of Representatives.

Prior to his tenure in the Senate, Ruggerio was a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives from 1981 through 1984 and was a member of the House Labor Committee and House Corporations Committee.

He served as a policy adviser for the Office of the Lieutenant Governor from 1977 through 1981.

In January 2013, Ruggerio was one of five senators to file legislation seeking a voter referendum to define marriage as being between solely a man and a woman in the Rhode Island Constitution.^[1][2]

Ruggerio was briefly redistricted to Senate District 6 in 2002 before being redistricted back in 2004.^[3]

Personal life and death

Ruggerio resided in North Providence and was the father of two children, Charles and Amanda. On April 18, 2025, Ruggerio, who had been receiving treatments for cancer, was hospitalized at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in North Providence.^[4] Three days later, on April 21, he died at the age of 76.^[5]

Arrests and legal issues

In November 1989, Ruggerio was charged with maliciously damaging the car of a Lincoln businessman, Nandy M. Sarda, in September of the same year. In February 1990, he was ordered to pay restitution and to stay away from Sarda.^[6]

Ruggerio was arrested in September 1990 for shoplifting condoms from a CVS drug store in Cranston, Rhode Island. He was not prosecuted.^[7][8]

In 2012, Ruggerio was arrested in Barrington, Rhode Island, and charged with DUI and refusal to submit to a breathalyzer.^[9] He later pleaded guilty to refusing the test, but the DUI charge was dismissed.^[10]