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NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Richard Leone, the former chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who managed Brendan Byrne's two successful campaigns for governor, died last week. He was 75.
His sister, Sandra Brooks, said Leone died July 16 in Hopewell shortly after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He was also battling Parkinson's disease.
Leone served as state treasurer under former Gov. Byrne after leading his 1973 and 1977 campaigns and became chairman of the Port Authority in 1990.
The Webster, New York, native graduated from the University of Rochester in 1962. He had master's and doctorate degrees from Princeton University.
His daughter, Kate Leone, is a legal staffer in Sen. Harry Reid's office who helped write President Barack Obama's signature health care law.
Leone was also the president of the Twentieth Century Fund. The nonpartisan public policy research organization focused on inequality, voting rights, civil liberties and opposing the privatization of Social Security.
Brooks said that Leone was cremated and that a memorial service is being planned at Princeton in September.
Besides his sister and daughter, he is also survived by his second wife, Meg, a son from his first marriage, Max, and a granddaughter.
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