Philip Giordano

Philip Anthony Giordano (Caracas, March 25, 1963) is the former Republican mayor of Waterbury, Connecticut, and a convicted sex offender. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela, to Italian parents and his family moved to the United States when he was two years old.

A lawyer, former state representative and former Marine (1981–1985), Giordano served three terms as mayor after being elected for the first time in 1995. In 2000, he unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the U.S. Senate, losing to Joe Lieberman.

Mayor of Waterbury, Connecticut
During his time as mayor, he claimed to have balanced Waterbury's budget, but prior to his arrest a state oversight board had to intervene as a result of chronic pension underfunding and taking money out of the pension fund to balance the general fund. Upon Giordano's arrest in 2001, he was forced to step aside, leaving President of the Board of Aldermen Sam Caligiuri as acting mayor.

Convicted sex offender
While investigating municipal corruption, the FBI discovered phone records and pictures of Giordano with a prostitute, as well as with her 10-year-old niece and her eight-year-old daughter. He was arrested on July 26, 2001, and, in March 2003, was convicted of 14 counts of using an interstate device, his cellphone, to arrange sexual contact with children. He was also convicted of violating the girls' civil rights. He was sentenced to 37 years in prison. In July 2007 his motion to reduce this sentence was denied by a federal judge. In 2006, Giordano sued the city for back pay resulting from sick days and vacation time.

Giordano is currently serving his 37-year sentence at the United States Penitentiary, Tucson, a high-security federal prison in Arizona, and is scheduled for release in 2034.