Vito Titone

Judge Vito J. Titone, long a firm liberal voice on the New York State Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, died on Wednesday on Staten Island. He was 76. He was elevated as an associate judge in 1985 by Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, a friend since law school. He retired from the court in 1998. Vito Joseph Titone was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Queens. He graduated from New York University in 1951 and received his law degree at St. John's University in 1956, a classmate of Mr. Cuomo. He twice ran unsuccessfully for the State Senate and was elected to the State Supreme Court on Staten Island in 1969. In 1975, Gov. Hugh L. Carey named him to the Appellate Division, the middle level of the state court system. His 1998 retirement came as a surprise. He then joined the small Manhattan firm of Mintz & Gold. Judge Titone is survived by his wife of 49 years, Margaret Viola Titone; two sons, Stephen D. and Matthew J., both of Staten Island; two daughters, Elena T. Hill of Bath, England, and Elizabeth Titone-Alderson of Brooklyn; two sisters, Mary Ann Izzo and Jean Bushimi, both of Florida; and five grandchildren.