HARTFORD — A newly created state criminal justice department that will deal with ethics and professional standards has named its first director, the state’s chief attorney said Monday.
Chief State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin announced that Lisa M. D’Angelo will serve as director of the new Office of Ethics and Professional Standards, serving as counsel on “all questions and issues related to ethical conduct and professional standards”.
Griffin was named Connecticut’s first prosecutor this year after the retirement of Richard Colangelo, who had been accused of hiring the daughter of a state budget official from whom he solicited raises for himself and his staff.
D’Angelo will be responsible for updating and evaluating the ethical and professional standards of the state’s Criminal Justice Division, as well as implementing staff development and training for prosecutors and inspectors, a said Griffin.
“The fundamental objective of Criminal Justice Division policy development must be to promote public confidence in our prosecutorial decisions and in the exercise of our prosecutorial discretion,” said Griffin said in the statement. “We must make every effort to assure the public that our decisions are based on a rational and objective assessment of each charge and each case.”
D’Angelo, who has held numerous other positions within the Criminal Justice Division and in the New Haven Judicial District, will also serve as a liaison between that department and several law enforcement agencies.
D’Angelo holds a bachelor of arts degree in criminal justice and psychology from the University of Connecticut, as well as a degree from Quinnipiac University School of Law, according to the release.
