Description:

Dominick Mazzagetti was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey. In the interview, he traces his father's roots in Abruzzi, Italy and mother's parents' origins in Sicily. He grew up in the Vailsburg section and went to public schools.

From 1965 to 1969, he commuted to the Rutgers Newark College of Arts and Sciences, where he majored in political science and minored in economics. He was active in Republican politics, working on Tom Kean's campaign when he was first elected to the General Assembly. He relates his experiences with the Vietnam draft lottery.

(Part 2) He went to Cornell Law School from 1969 to 1972. After he clerking for New Jersey Chief Justice Joseph Weintraub, he worked in private practice. He served as the Deputy and Acting Commissioner of Banking in New Jersey (1982-'85) during the Kean Administration. He served as general counsel and then executive vice president and chief operating officer of Cenlar Federal Savings Bank. In 1999, he became the president of NJM Bank, a position he held until 2004. From 2009 to 2013, he served as the president and CEO of RomAsia Bank.

He served as a committee member and mayor of Raritan Township from 1999 to 2005. He has been involved in the Hunterdon County Cultural and Heritage Commission, the Martin House Community Justice Foundation and Boheme Opera NJ.

A column in the Hunterdon County Democrat led Mazzagetti to write "True Jersey Blues": The Civil War Letters of Lucien A. Voorhees and William Mackenzie Thompson, 15th Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers. He is also the author of Structuring Mortgage Banking Transactions, Charles Lee: Self Before Country and The Jersey Shore: The Past, Present & Future of a National Treasure.

The Rutgers Oral History Archives received an operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State. In the 2021-2022 cycle, this grant assisted the ROHA staff in making this oral history available to you for your use.