State Sen. Jose Peralta Died From Leukemia: Medical Examiner

Former state Sen. Jose Peralta died from leukemia, the New York City medical examiner's office revealed on Tuesday. 

The cause of the 47-year-old's Nov. 21 death was unknown until now; he died at Elmhurst Hospital. 

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Peralta's wife, Evelyn, told reporters he had felt pressure behind his ears and headaches for a week or more and had seen a doctor, according to local news outlets. But his condition didn't raise alarms until he developed a fever on Nov. 20 and became disoriented and had trouble breathing the next day, when he was taken to a hospital, she said.

His wife said the family believed his illness was an infection until the autopsy results.

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"We really [didn't] know what happened," she said. "... He just took a turn for the worst."

Peralta represented parts of Queens in New York's Senate for eight years and served in the state Assembly for eight years before that. As a senator, he was a member of a breakaway Democratic group that, for a time, formed a coalition with Republicans to control the chamber. He was also the first Dominican-American elected to state Senate. 

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Peralta's survivors include his wife and two sons.

Photo Credit: NY Senate

from NBC New York - Top Stories http://bit.ly/2Cq5YmS