Curtis Sliwa

Curtis Sliwa (born March 26, 1954) is an American anti-crime activist, founder and CEO of the Guardian Angels, radio talk show host and politician. Sliwa has announced that he will be running for mayor of New York City in 2021 as a Republican, seeking to become the 110th Mayor of New York City.

Curtis Sliwa
Sliwa in 2007
Born (1954-03-26) March 26, 1954
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Known forFounder of the Guardian Angels; radio host, politician and media personality
Spouse(s)Unknown wife
Lisa Evers
​
(
m. 1981; div. 1995)

Mary Galda
​
(
m. 2000; div. 2012)

Nancy Regula
(
m. 2018)
ChildrenAnthony Chester
Carter Katz
Hunter Katz

Early life

Sliwa was born into a Catholic family of Polish and Italian descent, in Canarsie, Brooklyn.[1] He has two sisters.[2] He attended Brooklyn Prep, a Jesuit high school from which he was later expelled,[3] and graduated from Canarsie High School, a Brooklyn, New York City public high school. Prior to founding the Guardian Angels, he was night manager of a McDonald's restaurant on Fordham Road in the Bronx.[4]

Guardian Angels
Guardian Angels in Miami Metrorail, 2001

In May 1977, Sliwa created the "Magnificent 13", a group dedicated to combating violence and crime on the New York City Subway.[5] At the time, the city was experiencing a crime wave. The Magnificent 13 grew and was renamed the Guardian Angels in 1979. The group's actions drew strong reactions, both positive and negative,[6] from the police, public officials, residents, and the media. Throughout the early 1980s, the group's distinctive uniform, a military-type red beret and white insignia T-shirt, became recognizable as the group grew and courted media attention. In 1992, Sliwa received the prestigious Courage of Conscience Award from the Peace Abbey, at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston.

In the early 1980s, he became active in Buffalo, New York, and was often critical of local police policies and practices.[7] Sliwa continues to act as the president of the organization and oversees its worldwide operations. His ex-wife, Mary, was Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer. Sliwa frequently visits chapters throughout the world and graduates new chapters. Sliwa stated that as of 2011, the Guardian Angels operated in nine countries and 82 cities around the world, with approximately 5,000 members.

Murder attempt

On June 19, 1992, Sliwa was kidnapped and shot by two gunmen after entering a stolen taxi in Manhattan. The taxi picked up Sliwa near his home in the East Village, and a gunman hiding in the front passenger seat jumped up and fired several shots, hitting him in the groin and legs. The kidnapping was foiled when Sliwa leapt from a front window of the moving cab and escaped. Sliwa underwent surgery for internal injuries and leg wounds.[8]

John A. Gotti (middle) in an FBI surveillance photo.

Federal prosecutors eventually charged John A. Gotti, the son of Gambino crime family leader John Gotti, with the attempted murder and a raft of other charges. Prosecutors claimed that Gotti was angered by remarks Sliwa had made on his radio program about Gotti's father. However, after three attempts to try him, the last on September 20, 2005, three separate juries were unable to agree to convict Gotti on all of the charges brought against him, and the charges were dropped. Jurors later told reporters they did believe he had a role in Sliwa's shooting.[9] Prosecutors declined to re-try Gotti and dismissed the charges against him. Sliwa has said he would seek damages in civil court.[10]

Michael Yannotti, a Gotti associate, was also charged with shooting Sliwa in the incident but was acquitted. Yannotti, however, was sentenced to 20 years on an unrelated racketeering charge.[11] Still, Manhattan Federal Judge Shira Scheindlin said evidence suggested Yannotti was the shooter.[12]

Media career

Radio
Sliwa in September 2007

Sliwa has been a radio broadcaster for more than two decades, most of that time on WABC-AM, where he began his career in 1990. In 1994, the then city-owned and operated WNYC hired Sliwa, who had been released by WABC. Some, including Sliwa,[13] have suggested that he was forced on the station by newly elected mayor Rudy Giuliani, whom he had supported in the mayoral race.[14] Sliwa stayed four months in the position before moving back to commercial radio.

Sliwa has become a populist conservative radio talk show host. Since 1996 he has hosted various radio programs on WABC,[15] and in 2000, he became the co-host, with attorney Ron Kuby, of the long-running Curtis and Kuby in the Morning. The show lasted eight years before Citadel Broadcasting replaced the team with Don Imus.[16] His longtime broadcast partner was lawyer Ron Kuby, with whom he had multiple times hosted in the past "Curtis & Kuby" weekday radio show at noon, on WABC-AM in New York City.[17] Starting in June 2017, Sliwa's co-host was attorney & television commentator, Eboni Williams.[18] This pairing was short-lived. He was then paired with veteran media personality Rita Cosby, but that was short-lived as well. His current co-host is another media/news veteran, Juliet Huddy.

The Curtis Sliwa LIVE program began national syndication on December 1, 2008.[19] WABC retained Sliwa until November 2009, when his show was cancelled after a contract dispute.[20] He hosted both the morning and evening "drive time" shows on WNYM-AM 970,[21] but as of January 2, 2014, Sliwa returned to WABC, replacing Rush Limbaugh who moved to WOR-AM.[22]

Television

Sliwa made weekly appearances as a commentator on NY1's Inside City Hall.

Politics

In September 2016, Sliwa launched a successful hostile takeover of the Reform Party of New York State.[23] The party lost its ballot access in the November 2018 elections.[24] Sliwa has announced that he will be running for mayor of New York City in 2021 as a Republican, seeking to become the 110th mayor of New York City.[25]

Personal life
Sliwa at a Toronto gathering, in July 2006

Sliwa has been married four times. He wed his second wife, Lisa Evers, in 1981. At the time, she was National Director of the Guardian Angels;[26][27] she also co-hosted a WABC-AM radio show called Angels in the Morning. Lisa, a martial arts expert who briefly trained with the World Wrestling Federation in 1986,[28] is now a television reporter and radio personality. Sliwa and Evers divorced in 1995.

In 2000, Sliwa married his third wife, Mary Galda, a former WABC employee who also served as the Guardian Angels' national director.[29] They have one son, Anthony Chester.[30] Sliwa has been sued by his ex-wife, Mary, who accused him of diverting money during their marriage to a mistress as part of a plan to build a "nest egg" prior to moving in with her. The relationship was brief and ended shortly after they moved in.[31][32][33]

Sliwa was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2010, which he announced publicly on April 20, 2011.[34]

In July 2018, Curtis married long-time girlfriend and attorney Nancy Regula who serves as the Director of Animal Protection in the Guardian Angels organization. Nancy and Curtis reside on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with their rescue cats.

References
  1. Witchel, Alex (November 12, 1992). "BACK ON THE STREET WITH: Curtis Sliwa; Not Invincible, but Standing Fast". The New York Times.
  2. Couric, Katie (December 18, 2005). "Aleta St. James' journey to motherhood". NBC News.
  3. "Brooklyn's Favorite Crime-fighter, Curtis Sliwa, Is Honored by Local Politicians" (PDF). Brooklyn Daily Eagle. March 6, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 20, 2010.
  4. "Curtis Sliwa, CEO and Founder". Guardian Angels. Archived from the original on September 5, 2007. Retrieved September 11, 2007.
  5. "25 Years Later, How The Magnificent 13 Became The Guardian Angels". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  6. Hester, Jere (November 9, 1998). "Either Right Or Wrong Angels On Patrol, 1980". Daily News. New York. Retrieved March 26, 2009.
  7. "James Cunningham, Buffalo Police Commissioner, Dies". The New York Times. Associated Press. January 22, 1984.
  8. Bennet, James (June 21, 1992). "Koch Visits Sliwa as Investigation Fails to Yield Shooting Suspect". The New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
  9. Neumeister, Larry (September 28, 2006). "3rd Gotti Jr. Trial Ends in Mistrial". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved March 26, 2009.
  10. Feuer, Allan (October 20, 2006). "No Fourth Trial for Gotti, Prosecutors Say". The New York Times. Retrieved July 10, 2007.
  11. Zambito, Thomas (November 14, 2006). "Mob Goon's 20 Yrs. Moves Sliwa to Tears". Daily News. New York. Archived from the original on December 1, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2009.
  12. Campanile, Carl (December 25, 2004). "'LITTLE NICKY' IS EYED IN GOTTI HITS". New York Post. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  13. Collins, Glenn (July 17, 2006). "WNYC's Planned Move Will Finish Its Breakup With the City". The New York Times. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  14. Martin, Douglas (February 9, 1994). "City Radio Gives a Host's Job to Sliwa". The New York Times. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  15. Nossiter, Adam (April 13, 1996). "Gunman's Tale of Fear, Hatred and Drugs". The New York Times. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  16. Hinckley, David (November 28, 2007). "Curtis & Kuby will 'go out with their heads high'". Daily News. New York.
  17. Sisario, Ben (January 2, 2014). "Talk Radio on WABC Shifts Focus to the Local". The New York Times.
  18. "Eboni Williams To Co-Host With Curtis Sliwa". Radio Ink. June 7, 2017.
  19. "ABC Radio Networks Launches Curtis Sliwa LIVE" (PDF). ABC Radio Networks. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  20. "Curtis Sliwa is leaving WABC 770 AM". Daily News. New York. November 24, 2009.
  21. "A big 'Apple' welcome for Sliwa". Daily News. New York. December 7, 2009.
  22. "The EIB Network Welcomes New Affiliates". RushLimbaugh.com. January 2, 2014.
  23. Mahoney, Bill (October 31, 2016). "Upstart group wins legal battle over control of the Reform Party". Politico. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  24. "Reform Party of New York & Women's Equality Party lose ballot status". News Growl. November 7, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  25. Campanile, Carl (March 8, 2020). "Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa vows to run for mayor". New York Post. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  26. Carter, E. Graydon (December 28, 1981). "People: Dec. 28, 1981". TIME. Archived from the original on October 15, 2010. Guardian Angels National Director Lisa Evers, 28, who will marry Angels leader Curtis Sliwa, 26, on Christmas Eve in Manhattan
  27. Bernstein, Fred (February 8, 1982). "In a Time of Tragedy and Growth, the Guardian Angels' Curtis Sliwa Relies on His New Wife, Lisa". People.
  28. "Guardian Angel Embodies The Right Attitude". Chicago Tribune. Montreal Gazette. July 21, 1986.
  29. Burke, Cathy (July 9, 2000). "Angel No. 1 Ties Knot with Bride No. 3". New York Post.
  30. Zambito, Thomas (June 14, 2006). "Gotti Goons Target My Boy: Sliwa". Daily News. New York.
  31. Fanelli, James (May 9, 2013). "Guardian Angels' Curtis Sliwa Swindled Wife during Affair, Lawsuit Says". DNAinfo. New York. Archived from the original on July 31, 2013.
  32. Gregorian, Dareh (December 11, 2013). "Curtis Sliwa Child-Support Trial: Queens Borough President-elect Melinda Katz Gets Grilled". New York Daily News.
  33. Williams, Timothy (September 6, 2006). "Sliwa, a Gotti Antagonist, Is Called by the Defense This Time". The New York Times.
  34. "Curtis Sliwa Homepage". Archived from the original on July 30, 2012.
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