Veteran broadcast engineer Gino Riciardelli passed away Friday, June 1st just a few weeks shy of his 96th birthday.  A Vestal resident, Riciardelli was key in the development of television stations in the area.

His first job in broadcasting in the area came with WNBF Radio.  He made his mark working with or heading up engineering departments at several area television stations.  Over the years he was a key component of WNBF-TV (now WBNG) as well as WSKG and WICZ Fox 40.  He served as Chief Engineer at WICZ for two decades.

According to information on WICZ's website Ricciardelli was responsible for helping digitize local television stations.  Even though he retired from full-time employment in the mid 1990's he continued to work on various broadcasting projects in the area.

WNBF News/Roger Neel Photo
WNBF News/Roger Neel Photo
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Ricciardelli was a charter member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers and was often called to assist engineers at other stations in the region.  A number of area broadcasters gathered at the Bundy Museum of History and Art in Binghamton last summer to celebrate his 95th birthday.

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