Village mourns former justice

Frank E. Yannelli, of Rockville Centre, died on Oct. 3, at age 85. He was a husband, a father and a community leader who served as village justice for 25 years.

Mayor Francis Murray said that Yannelli was beloved by the community for his kindness and generosity. “He was respected by his peers and the legal community for his fairness and knowledge of the law and was a fixture in the courtrooms of our county and village,” Murray said. “He will be truly missed. My deepest sympathies to his family and friends.”

Yannelli was born on April 1, 1937, at South Nassau Hospital in Oceanside, to Dr. Frank V. Yannelli and Marguerite Yannelli, of Baldwin. He routinely spoke of the joys of growing up in Baldwin, and the time he spent with his parents and sisters, Jane and Pam.

He attended St. Christopher’s School, Chaminade High School and Georgetown University, where he excelled academically and was a member of the swim team. He went on to serve in the U.S. Army, spending time at Fort Dix, in New Jersey, and Fort Knox, in Kentucky. He was also a member of the U.S. National Guard, while continuing to pursue his education. He earned a master’s and a law degree from Fordham University.

Yannelli began practicing law in 1964, and he and his wife, Roberta, were married in 1966. They raised three sons, Christopher, Michael and Thomas, and eventually settled in Rockville Centre.

Frank enjoyed being an attorney, and practiced law for nearly 50 years, focusing on criminal defense. Those who knew him best said that his professionalism and devotion to civility were his trademarks, both inside and outside the courtroom.

Martha Krisel, a former village attorney, told the Herald that Yannelli was the kind of person who spoke to everybody in the same way, whether they were family, a fellow criminal defense lawyer or a client. “He was fair, but he was stern,” Krisel said. “He would always try to have people come to terms without judicial interference. He believed in the best of people. He was a gentleman. He was fair and charming, without being a phony. He was a kind-hearted and passionate attorney who was one of a kind, and we will miss him terribly, as will the profession.”

No matter who you asked, those who knew Yannelli they would say much the same thing, that he treated everyone with the utmost respect, and never had a harsh word for the opposing counsel, witness or defendant.

“Over 25 years of daily interaction, I never heard him swear — not once,” Stephen Civardi, one of Yannelli’s longtime associates and a former law partner, said. “He never had anything bad to say about anyone. He was a remarkable person who gave a tremendous amount to his profession.”

Civardi recalled how Yannelli would call his parents every day at 5 p.m., a practice he continued with his children.

“He taught me as much about being a professional as he did about being a father,” Civardi said.

Yannelli became village justice in 1982, and served for 25 years. He was known for finding a balance of enforcing laws in a manner that benefited all litigants. “No one can win every case,” he would say, “but every person involved in the court system could be helped in some manner or fashion.”

He served as president of the Nassau County Bar Association, the Criminal Courts Bar Association and the Nassau County Magistrates Association.

Yannelli received numerous awards over the course of his career, including, in 2007, the New York State Bar Association’s award for attorney professionalism, in recognition of his honor, integrity, civility and commitment to the practice. He did not bask in the accolades, but was proud of the work he did to modernize the village court system.

He also took pride in his work with the Confide Counseling Center, an outpatient drug and alcohol facility in Rockville Centre; the work he did in creating a free senior citizen law consultation clinic; and his work on the adoption of a “creed of professionalism” by the county Bar Association.

William Croutier, a Rockville Centre village justice who spent 15 years as the village prosecutor under Yannelli, said that his death is a great loss to the community.

“He was probably the nicest, classiest kind, professional person that I’ve ever met,” Croutier said. “He set the example on how to treat people. How, when you’re in a position such as his, you have to be fair to everybody and make sure that everybody gets a fair shake.”

Yannelli also served on the board of directors of the Rockville Centre Economic Opportunity Council, and on the Zoning Board of Appeals.

And as dedicated as he was to his profession, he was equally dedicated to his family and his life at home. His son Christopher said that when he was growing up, his father’s wisdom and friendship had a major impact on his life, setting a high standard that he has tried to emulate with his own family.

“As we got older and started looking at careers, he always stressed that we should do something that we enjoyed and that had social significance,” Christopher Yannelli said. “He was a smart guy. He was kind, caring, and nurturing. He was very generous with his time and the money that he made. He gave us the freedom to make mistakes and to learn that way, too.”

After he retired, Yannelli was honored by the legal community with the dedication of an attorneys room at the Nassau County Courthouse, which now bears his name.

He enjoyed vacationing with his family, particularly in Maine, where they had a cabin. He canoed, ran and swam in the “healing waters” of Belgrade Lakes. He also enjoyed skiing in Vermont, California and Utah, where Christopher now lives with his family.

Running was one of his many passions. He would often run from Rockville Centre down to Malibu at Lido Beach, where he had a cabana. During the summer months, all three of his boys worked there as lifeguards. He kept meticulous records of his run times, and would strive to improve them. He took part in races across Long Island, and occasionally in New York City.

Yannelli was a proud grandfather of Caroline, whom he affectionately dubbed “Numero Uno,” Alex, Madison, Dylan, Zachary and Keira.

In 2007, Roberta Yannelli died after a 20-year battle with leiomyosarcoma, at age 71. And last year their son Thomas died in his sleep, at age 47. He had served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army, where he fought in two combat missions in Iraq.

Yannelli is survived by his sister, Jane, sons Christopher and Michael, nephews Greg, Andrew and Keith and nieces Jane and Brooke.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, from 2 to 6 p.m., at Glynn Funeral Home in Rockville Centre. A Mass of Christian burial will follow on Monday, at 9:45 a.m., at St. Agnes Cathedral, followed by interment at Holy Rood Cemetery in Westbury.