2007 NETWORKING® MAGAZINE’S DAVID AWARD HONOREE.

THOMAS P. ROSICKI, Esq.
Managing Partner
Rosicki, Rosicki & Associates

BY MAUREEN TRAXLER

From manager of a fast food chicken chain to successful
lawyer and businessman, Tom Rosicki’s career combines enthusiasm, passion and commitment.

After graduating from Duke University with a degree in management science and accounting and owning a Chick-Fil-A store in Cherry Hill, NJ, at the age of 21, he relocated to the Washington, D.C. area. Through a friend, he became interested in joining the FBI.“ I felt it would be exciting, fun and professional,” says Rosicki, “and a way to do something for my country.” After graduating from the FBI Academy, he worked as an agent in the Organized Crime Division in Baltimore, St. Louis and New York City from 1982 to 1989. His investigation of corruption at
Manhattan’s South Street Seaport caught the attention
of New York City Mayor Ed Koch, who appointed
him Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Taxi
and Limousine Commission. During City service, he
worked to ensure high ethical standards.

Moving into private sector law enforcement, Rosicki joined Macy’s Department Store as director of investigations and rose to the position of Vice President/Director of Security. In addition to protecting consumers and staff at Macy’s Herald Square flagship store and 59 stores throughout the region, he was in charge of security for the annual Macy’s
Thanksgiving Day Parade. “We would begin preparing
for the next parade on the day after Thanksgiving, and coordinated with police agencies throughout the year,” he says. At the time, the huge floats were inflated in Hoboken, NJ, the night before. Rosicki would secure and close the Lincoln Tunnel, and he adds, “It was quite a sight to see
Santa’s reindeer come flying out of the tunnel on the
Manhattan side.” After five years of “constant
excitement,” he left Macy’s when it was acquired by
Federated Department Stores.

In 1987, Rosicki, who is of Polish heritage, accompanied
a friend from the NYPD to the annual Kosciuszko Foundation Debutante Ball at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. There, he met Cynthia, a promising lawyer with a small sole practice in Brooklyn. In nine weeks he proposed, and they married a few months later.

When Rosicki left Macy’s, the couple decided to
combine and focus their skills and talents and work
together to develop a successful, progressive and
dynamic organization. He entered Yeshiva University’s Benjamin Cardozo School of Law, and in two years, received his J.D. from Touro University School of Law. With six or seven employees, Rosicki, Rosicki & Associates moved to One Old Country Road, Carle Place. Each day, Rosicki couldn’t help but notice the people with disabilities, obvious and more subtle, coming and going at the Rehabilitation Institute Transition to Work (TRI)
office in the lobby. He thought, “Wouldn’t it be great
to hire a person with disabilities?”“ We hired our first employee with disabilities, Barbara Dorfman, who had spina bifida and hydroencephelitis, and trained her as our receptionist,” says Rosicki. “It was wonderful.” Perhaps with his drive, that one inclusive event – a major effort to change attitudes– can spark a new era in the private workplace on Long Island. Today, the Rosicki law firm, which represents the mortgage banking industry statewide
and manages a nationwide counsel retention system,
employs 200 people, including about 26 people with
disabilities. “I saw that hiring people with disabilities
had a humanizing effect on our office, and it still
does.”

At the invitation of a colleague, Rosicki toured the
Association for the Help of Retarded Children’s
Brookville facility. Soon, he found himself on the
Board of Directors, and recently completed his first
year as president. “I’ve gotten to know many people
from the disabilities community,” he remarks, and
through these connections, he’s made new hires,
through AHRC and Abilities, the employment arm of
National Center for Disabilities.

“ Everybody’s better for our decision to hire people
with disabilities. We’ve all grown as a result,” says
Rosicki, who draws his inspiration from his education
at Chaminade High School in Mineola. It wasn’t
any specific event or teacher or course, he says, but
“ the whole concept of giving and responsibility to
our fellowman. It permeates the education there, and
it changed my life.”

Rosicki continues to fulfill his responsibility by
serving on the business advisory board of The
Rehabilitation Institute and through his past chairmanship
of the Society of Former FBI Agents-New
York City Chapter. He and Cynthia continue to support
the Kosciuszko Foundation, where she is a
trustee, and they sponsor live Sunday night Polish
music on WQXR. They’ve attended every Debutante
Ball since they met, along with their many guests
from the firm.

As a way to participate in the disabled community
in Western New York and to introduce their law firm
to the legal and banking communities located in and
around Batavia, NY – one of their five locations in the
state – the Rosickis began an annual fundraiser for
“ Hunter’s Hope” in 2005. A foundation begun by
Pro-Football Hall of Fame Quarterback Jim Kelly and
his wife Jill in memory of their son Hunter, “Hunter’s
Hope” benefits children with Krabbe’s disease and
other leukodystropies. Each year, the Rosicki firm
presents the Kellys with a check for $25,000, which
represents only a portion of the funds raised.

Rosicki and his wife live in Muttontown and have
a home in Southold, where several years ago, they
planted a 12-acre vineyard, called “Sparkling Pointe.”
Even before their first season, they received acclaim
as the first and only New York State grower producing
sparkling wines exclusively. “The winery is a
great creative outlet,” notes Rosicki, who says they
expect their first release in the fall of 2007 and look
forward to opening the winery to visitors.

More recently, after a two-week vacation to Rio de
Janeiro, the couple embarked on learning Brazilian
Portuguese and dedicate about a half-hour a day to
practicing the language. Rosicki has dabbled in poetry
to inspire attendees at Hunter’s Hope fundraisers
and in support of employment of people with disabilities.
“ When I went into business, I set out to build an
uncommon organization,” says Rosicki. “We hire for
the person, and I think we have the nicest people anywhere. I can say that I am happy and proud to be
working with my many diverse employees.”

NETWORKING® January 2007