Steven Cataneo, the real estate broker/ owner and CEO of Century 21 Cataneo & Associates, Holmdel, has been awarded the Stivale D’Italia Award of Excellence, which was presented by The Italian Voice Newspaper. The Italian Voice Newspaper was founded in 1932 and is circulated in the United States and Italy, including New York, New Jersey, Rome, Naples and Palermo, serving the Italian American community.
In a statement issued by The Italian Voice publisher Cesarina Augusto Earl, Earl stated: “The names of this year’s honorees, our Ospiti d’Onore, were selected and voted upon from hundreds of nominations submitted by our readers, clubs, and organizations to receive the highly coveted and prestigious Stivale D’Italia Award of Excellence plaque in official recognition of the pride that they have shown in our rich heritage, culture and traditions. These fine men and women are successful Italian Americans to whom we can point with pride. They are of exemplary moral character and conduct, spoken more often than not of their honesty, integrity, reliability, and unwavering dedication to fair and ethical business practices. Most of all, each possesses the characteristic most revered by all Italian Americans: They are people whose word is their bond, whose handshake is more trusted than a signed contract.”
Cataneo has been involved in real estate since 1988 and has been licensed in New Jersey since 1998. He is a retired New York City police sergeant and was the president of Catco Marketing & Management Co. before moving to New Jersey. Cataneo was also the founding president of the Italian American Association of Monmouth County and is currently an active retired member of the NYPD and part of the NYPD Retiree Mobilization Plan, where he may be called upon to respond during a disaster or when deemed necessary by the police commissioner.
He and his wife of 20 years, Florence Cataneo, reside in Monmouth County and have both worked for Century 21 since 2002. They opened their own office, Century 21 Cataneo & Associates, in 2009.
“These words truly represent who and what my husband is. He is a man of honor and integrity with unparalleled moral character who says what he means, means what he says, and stands up for what he believes in. You don’t find many people like Steven and I am very proud of him. He is truly worthy of this award,” Florence Cataneo said.
“I am graciously honored to be recognized by the members of the Italian American community and will continue to live up to the standard of this award. The words that were written by Mr. Earl are who I am and are ingrained into my DNA. I don’t think I will ever change and I have no problem living with that. I have a simple philosophy: just treat people the same way that you want to be treated in business and in life. Like my father always told me, if you do right you will never do wrong,” said Cataneo said. “I am very proud of my heritage and this award is very special to me. To be recognized for the way I conduct my business and live my life is truly an honor. Again I would like to thank the Italian Voice Newspaper and all of the people who nominated and voted for me. Bene Grazie!”
Steven Cataneo’s company, Century 21 Cataneo & Associates, is located at 33 W. Main St. (Route 520) in Holmdel, and serves Monmouth, Middlesex and Ocean counties. For more information, call 732- 444-6555.