Matthew J. Rinaldo, 77, ex-congressman

WEST CALDWELL, N.J. - Matthew J. Rinaldo, a former U.S. representative for New Jersey and a moderate Republican known for his personal attention to constituent problems, died of complications of Parkinson's disease on Monday at an assisted-living facility in West Caldwell. He was 77.

Born in Elizabeth, Mr. Rinaldo served in Congress for 20 years, beginning in 1973. He represented the Seventh District, which includes Elizabeth and Plainfield and suburban communities in Union and Somerset Counties.

Mr. Rinaldo did not stand for reelection in 1992, saying he was tired of the bitter partisanship in Congress and of being in the minority party.

Rep. Chris Smith (R., Fourth District), the ranking member of the New Jersey congressional delegation, served with Mr. Rinaldo for a dozen years and called him "a true believer in bipartisanship" who "knew and understood the value of principled compromise."

Rinaldo was a graduate of Rutgers University and held an MBA degree from Seton Hall University. He served as a Union County freeholder in 1963 and 1964 and in the state Senate for five years prior to his election to Congress.

In Congress, he rose to become ranking Republican on the Telecommunications and Finance Committee.

Asked before his retirement to name his top accomplishments, Mr. Rinaldo listed a law prohibiting countries that harbor terrorists from getting loans from the Export-Import Bank, a measure providing public access to pollution data and a bill to limit commercials during children's television program.

A viewing will be held today from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. at Higgins & Bonner Echo Lake Funeral Home in Westfield. A funeral Mass will be held tomorrow at 10:15 a.m. at St. Michael Roman Catholic Church in Union.