Vitaliano was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 6, 2005, to a seat vacated by Arthur Spatt.

[1] Vitaliano was born in West New Brighton, Staten Island on February 27, 1948, and attended St. Peter's Boys High School.

[2] Vitaliano received a Bachelor of Arts from Fordham College in 1968 and a Juris Doctor from the New York University School of Law in 1971.

He frequently lobbied to ensure satisfactory express bus service from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority from the Island to New York City.

Vitaliano was officially nominated to the court by President George W. Bush on October 6, 2005, to the seat vacated by Arthur Donald Spatt, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 21, 2005, and received his commission on January 19, 2006.

One, the Tobacco Warehouse, a Civil War-era structure in Dumbo, was on the verge of conversion to the new home of Brooklyn's leading theater company.