Deputy Chief State's Attorney John J. Russotto

John J. Russotto is the Deputy Chief State’s Attorney for Personnel, Finance and Administration for the Division of Criminal Justice. Deputy Chief State's Attorney Russotto serves at the Rocky Hill headquarters that oversees more than 50 offices and nearly 500 personnel of the Division of Criminal Justice. He is responsible for oversight of budgetary and other administrative functions for the agency and currently serves on the Division's Legislative, Ethics, Management, and Training Committees and as a counselor to the Chief State's Attorney and the state's 13 State's Attorneys.

Deputy Chief State's Attorney Russotto was appointed twice by the Criminal Justice Commission to serve as Acting Chief State's Attorney, first from December 1, 2019 to January 31, 2020, and later from April 1, 2022 to May 12, 2022. For years, he has testified before the legislature on matters related to the Division's budget and has served as a liaison between the Division and the State of Connecticut Judicial Branch. He has spearheaded important initiatives at the Division in partnership with the Center for Court Innovation, including the Early Screening and Intervention Program (ESI), which provides enhanced community services to those in the criminal justice system, and the Moving Justice Forward project, a comprehensive analysis of the current state of prosecutorial policies and practices in four of the state’s 13 judicial districts that focuses on improving fairness and efficiency in Connecticut’s criminal justice system.

Prior to his first appointment to Deputy Chief State’s Attorney in July 2004, Attorney Russotto served as an Assistant State’s Attorney for the Division since 1997, prosecuting public corruption, white collar crimes and cold case homicides in addition to conducting complex grand jury investigations. Before his career as a prosecutor, Attorney Russotto worked in private practice from 1990 until 1997, litigating complex commercial and environmental civil matters in both state and federal courts.

Deputy Chief State's Attorney Russotto is a member of the Connecticut Criminal Justice Information System Governing Board, a past member the Connecticut Judicial Branch Access to Justice Commission and the Governor’s Task Force on Contracting Reform, and is a lecturer for the State of Connecticut Fire Marshal’s Certification Program and University of Connecticut, School of Public Policy.

Attorney Russotto earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree from Fairfield University and his Juris Doctor Degree from the Boston University School of Law.