Embattled CT Top Prosecutor To Retire

CONNECTICUT — Connecticut's top prosecutor will retire next month after an investigation into a controversial hiring.

The Criminal Justice Commission announced that Chief State's Attorney Richard Colangelo will focus on administrative tasks until he retires at the end of March, according to the New Haven Register.

Gov. Ned Lamont said last week that Colangelo would "be gone" if the decision were up to him, but the power to hire and fire prosecutors rests with the Criminal Justice Commission.

The report was commissioned by Lamont after Colangelo hired the daughter of a state budget officer to be an executive assistant with a starting salary of $99,000, according to the Hartford Courant. A column in the Courant last year called into question Colangelo's decision, since he had pressed her father for raises in his office.

The report didn't determine whether Colangelo ran afoul of Connecticut's state ethic rules, but did say that Colangelo's statements to investigators lacked credibility. Colangelo defended his decision and said the hiring wasn't politically-motivated, and that his motivation for prosecutor raises was to retain talent.