After college, Sossi joined the United States Navy, where he served from 1965 until 1970. He did a tour in Vietnam, from 1966 until 1967, and served as Deputy Branch Chief for the National Security Agency from 1968 to 1970. While in the military, he graduated from the Defense Language Institute studying Chinese. He also completed Officers' Cryptologic Course for the National Security Agency in 1969. After the military, Sossi was a self-employed businessman, owning The Ship and Soldier Shop since 1977. He was a member of the Queen Anne's County Republican Central Committee from 1990 until 1998. He has had the honor of serving as an alternate delegate to the Republican Party National Convention several times. In his community, Sossi is a member of the American Legion Post 278, the Elks Lodge, the Moose Lodge, the Vietnam Veterans of America, and the Coastal Conservation of America. He also serves on the Cecil County Chamber of Commerce, the Queen Anne's County Chamber of Commerce, and Rotary International.
Family
Richard Sossi married Flora Schoolfield in 1970 and has one daughter, Yvette Sossi Kalkay, and one grandson, Armando Kalkay.
He was first elected in 2003 and served along with fellow Republicans Michael D. Smigiel Sr. and Mary Roe Walkup. In 2002, he defeated Democratic incumbent Wheeler R. Baker for the seat in Queen Anne's County. In 2002, the election for that district called for the voters to choose 3 from the slate, whereas in the 1998 election, the voters chose one delegate from each county. In 2006, Sossi defeated Wheeler R. Baker again, this time with 53% of the vote. As a member in the Maryland House of Delegates, Sossi was appointed to be the Deputy Minority Whip in 2007. He serves on the Environmental Matters Committee and numerous subcommittees including local government & bi-county agencies subcommittee, 2003–05; housing & real property subcommittee, 2003–05, 2007-; natural resources subcommittee, 2003-; affordable housing work group, 2004; housing for individuals with disabilities work group, 2004; natural resources & ethics subcommittee, 2005; land use & ethics subcommittee, 2006; agriculture, agriculture preservation & open space subcommittee, ; ground rent work group, ; Chair, Queen Anne's County Delegation,. Member, Maryland Rural Caucus, ; Maryland Legislative Sportsmen's Caucus, ; Maryland Veterans Caucus, ; Member, Bainbridge Development Advisory Board, ; Task Force on Traffic Capacity Across the Chesapeake Bay, 2005–06; Task Force to Study Visual Smoke and Evacuation Alarms for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, 2005–06; J. DeWeese Carter Center Advisory Board, ; Task Force to Study the Boating Industry in Maryland,.
