Commission to interview three for CT chief state’s attorney job
Weeks after the departure for Chief State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo, three veteran prosecutors will interview to fill Connecticut’s top prosecutor job.
Those under consideration for the job are New Haven State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin, Hartford State’s Attorney Sharmese Walcott and former Litchfield State’s Attorney Dawn Gallo, who retired last month, according to the Criminal Justice Commission.
Deputy Chief State’s Attorney John Russotto has been serving as interim chief state’s attorney since Colangelo’s retirement on March 31. Colangelo announced his retirement in early February as the commission was about to mount an investigation into his hiring practices that could have led to his termination.
Colangelo was investigated for nepotism allegations in connection with the hiring of the daughter of state Office of Policy and Management Deputy Commissioner Kosta Diamantis.
Diamantis retired in October before he could be terminated as the secondin-command of OPM. Diamantis is now under federal investigation for his practices as the head of the state’s agency that dealt with school construction grants. His boss, OPM Secretary Melissa McCaw, also left state service after state officials publicly released a report by former U.S. Attorney Stanley Twardy and his associates at Day Pitney into the the hiring of Diamantis’ daughter.
At the time Twardy’s report was released, the state also acknowledged that it had received subpoenas from federal investigators that appeared to focus on Diamantis’ role in the school construction grant program.
Colangelo, the former Stamford state’s attorney, was appointed Chief State’s Attorney in January 2020.
The fall-out from the scandal led Gov. Ned Lamont to seek the input of the Criminal Justice Commission, which appoints and terminates state’s attorneys on how to prevent future ethical lapses within the Division of Criminal Justice which oversees all state prosecutors.
The commission, headed by state Supreme Court Justice Andrew McDonald, is expected to make a decision to fill the position May 12 after the interviews are complete.