former Reno mayor Bruno Menicucci dies at age 69
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Bruno Menicucci, a former Reno mayor known for wanting to consolidate
the Reno, Sparks and Washoe County governments, died Tuesday at the age
of 69.
The cause of death was not available.
"He was an outstanding mayor," said Clyde Biglieri, who served on the
Reno City Council from 1971 to 1979. "He never forgot his humble
beginnings and he never forgot the little guy."
Menicucci was mayor from 1977 to 1979, elected by the City Council, and
was a councilman in 1973-1981. A change in the city charter made the
mayor an elected official. Menicucci lost in the 1979 election to
Barbara Bennett..
Born in Sparks in 1937, he was a lifetime resident of Northern Nevada
and graduated from the University of Nevada with a degree in education.
He taught health and history at Bishop Manogue High School and coached
football and basketball. He married Anna Digino in August 1959.
"He was a dear friend, family man, and loyal patron to the people of
Reno," Gov.-elect Jim Gibbons said. "Growing up together in Sparks, I
always admired Bruno because he was not only well-liked, but was the
type of person who genuinely cared about others. Even at a young age,
he sought to make a difference in people's lives, and this remained the
case throughout his tenure in public service. "
Menicucci believed in long-term planning. The MGM Grand, now Grand
Sierra Resort, opened while he was in office. Shortly thereafter,
Sahara Reno and Circus Circus Reno opened.
"He was inquisitive," Biglieri said. "He knew what was going on and he
pursued the goals he thought would be of interest to the whole area and
the city in general."
Menicucci wanted to make the mayor's position more than a ceremonial
post and attempted to reassign leadership of the city's departments to
the mayor instead of the city manager.
"We should try to see ourselves talking in the future rather than in he
past," he is quoted as saying. "I think we've always undersold
ourselves in terms of the area."
Menicucci supported a
$40.5 million bond initiative to lower the railroad tracks through Reno
for safety reasons. In 1985, a federal bankruptcy judge ordered
Menicucci and his wife to pay $3 million of a $75 million judgment
against Western World Funding Inc., an investment firm that failed in
1982 and of which Menicucci was president and his wife vice president.
He was hospitalized at the end of his mayoral term with the onset of
adult diabetes and underwent open heart surgery in 2002.
Recitation of the Rosary is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at the Walton
Funeral Home, with Mass scheduled for
10 a.m. Friday at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, followed by
entombment at Mountain View Cemetery.
Surviving are his wife, brother John, daughters Andrea
Menicucci-Ardito, Karen Faust and Christina Lane and seven
grandchildren.