Obituaries : Nicholas J. Maluccio, 51; Mayor of Lancaster

Lancaster Mayor Nicholas J. Maluccio died suddenly in a restaurant Saturday, apparently of a heart attack, hours after he had thrown the ceremonial first pitch for Lancaster Day at Dodger Stadium, authorities said.

Maluccio, 51, was pronounced dead in the emergency room of Palmdale Hospital Medical Center shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday, said Barbara King, a hospital supervisor.

He and Vice Mayor George Theophanis returned from the baseball game and picked up their wives for dinner before 6, said the mayor’s brother, Michael Maluccio. “They were waiting in the entry area and Nick put his head on his wife’s shoulder, like he always does. But he didn’t pick it up.”

First Term on Council

Maluccio, a first-term council member, was the top vote-getter in Lancaster’s April election and was subsequently elected mayor by his council colleagues. He was an unsuccessful council candidate in 1986.

Though council positions are technically part-time jobs in the city of 75,000, about 70 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, Maluccio “was in the office all day, many days,” said acting City Manager Dennis E. Davenport.

He turned the operation of his Sav-On Fence Co. over to his oldest daughter and her husband when he got into politics, Maluccio’s brother said.

Born in Italy, he moved to New Britain, Conn., at 11, and has lived in the Antelope Valley since 1956, when he was stationed at Edwards Air Force Base. A blunt, assertive man, Maluccio at various times owned a hardware store, a radio station and a Victorville newspaper.

He also helped found Easy-Street, a rehabilitation center for heart attack victims.

“As recently as a month and a half ago, he had gone for a physical and his heart was all right. He had the high cholesterol, though, and they wanted him to quit smoking, which he didn’t,” Michael Maluccio said.

The City Council will convene today but may adjourn immediately in Maluccio’s honor, Davenport said. Later, they must decide whether to hold a special election or appoint a successor, he added.

Survivors include Maluccio’s wife, Eilene, two daughters, a son and three brothers. A Mass is scheduled Friday at Sacred Heart Church in Lancaster, Michael Maluccio said.