William Musto

[4] He served in World War II as a Captain in the 80th Division, 315th FA, Co C (as CO), General George S. Patton's Third Army, earning a Bronze Star.

[1] In 1972 Musto originated the North Hudson Council of Mayors, which was meant to offset Jersey City's "dominance" of county government.

In 1979, with a trial looming, Deputy Public Works Director Bruce D. Walter and Board of Education Secretary Robert Menendez (both of whom would later serve terms as Mayor of Union City) formed the Alliance Civic Association, and publicly questioned the overrun costs on Orlandini's construction company.

[1] They were eventually convicted of receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks from Orlandini, in part due to testimony by Menendez, a former aide of Musto's.

It was beaten by rival Menendez's Alliance Civic Association ticket, which won 57% of the vote, effectively doing away with the remnants of William Musto's political machine.

[7] After serving three and a half years, Musto was granted early parole to a Manhattan halfway house in 1987, where he stayed for two months.

[1] In 1941, Musto met his future wife Rhyta Palmerini, a medical technician at a Trenton hospital who hailed from Waterbury, Connecticut, at Fort Dix, when he was an artillery officer who was soon to ship out to war.

The center is housed in the former public library on 15th Street,[11] which was originally built by Cranwell family of builders in 1903,[12] with funds donated by Andrew Carnegie.

[12][13][14] The naming of the center drew criticism from Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for Governor Chris Christie, who questioned the appropriateness of honoring a convicted felon, but Union City Mayor Brian P. Stack, who began volunteering on Musto campaigns as a young boy, and was present at age 16 at Musto's sentencing, pushed to name the building after his former mentor, and defended the decision by praising Musto's fairness toward rich and poor alike, and his generosity in helping those in need.

James Plaisted, the lead prosecutor in the 1982 case, agreed with Stack, saying, "The senator dedicated his life to public service for his community over many decades.