Frank Annunzio; Congressman Who Urged Trashing of Credit Cards

Frank Annunzio, 86, who represented Chicago in Washington for 28 years and recently lent his name to the campaign against the popular television series “The Sopranos.” A Democrat who served in the House of Representatives from 1965 to 1993, Annunzio was a shoeshine boy, high school teacher and labor leader before he was elected to Congress. In 1989, as a subcommittee chairman of the House Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Committee, Annunzio attracted nationwide attention when he urged credit card holders to cut up or burn their cards to help force down interest rates. He recently joined a campaign that has criticized “The Sopranos” and says it portrays Italian Americans as “wanton criminals.” On Sunday in Chicago of complications from Parkinson’s disease.