Facing mounting pressure to resign over his role in a hiring scandal, Chief State's Attorney Richard Colangelo says he'll retire, effective Mar. 31.
Colangelo announced his plan to step down in a letter to the state's Criminal Justice Commission (CJC). A member of that commission says it would have started the termination process if Colangelo hadn't made that move.
"If he had not chosen to retire," said CJC member Scott Murphy, "we are confident that this commission would have moved to terminate him," which have been a "lengthy process."
A report ordered by the governor's office had questioned the credibility of Colangelo's account of the 2020 hiring of Anastasia Diamantis as his executive assistant. At the time of the hire, Colangelo was lobbying the woman's father, Kosta Diamantis, a top official at the state's Office of Policy and Management, for pay raises for Colangelo and his staff.
No one else was interviewed for the executive assistant's job.
Colangelo was not available for comment, but defended himself in a further letter to the commission:
"I do not plan to address the substance of the report (ordered by the governor's office) save to say that I vehemently disagree with many of its conclusions."
Word of Colangelo's intent to retire was announced at a special meeting of the CJC on Wednesday. The commission voted unanimously to appoint Colangelo's deputy, John Russotto, as acting chief state's attorney, effective Apr. 1.
