'That's pretty amazing': Omaha man celebrates longtime pal Todd Ricketts' selection as Trump's deputy commerce secretary

As a teenager, Ryan Costanzo worked alongside his childhood buddy, Todd Ricketts, pouring concrete in the summers.

Early Wednesday, the Omahan learned that president-elect Donald Trump had picked Ricketts, an Omaha native whose brother is Nebraska’s governor, to join his administration as deputy commerce secretary.

"It’s just amazing," said Costanzo, who met Todd Ricketts at Arbor Heights Junior High in Omaha’s Westside district in 1983. "One of our closest friends is going to be working with a president, you know? That’s pretty awesome."

Trump announced Todd Ricketts’ nomination Wednesday, along with former banker and Hollywood financier Steven Mnuchin as treasury secretary and billionaire industrialist Wilbur Ross to run the Commerce Department.

In a statement, Trump called Ricketts "an immensely successful businessman with unparalleled knowledge of the finance industry." He said Ricketts will help his administration "cut waste and streamline government so that it works for the people of America."

Full story: Omaha World Herald