Michael A. Gailor, Middlesex Judicial District State’s Attorney and President of the Connecticut Criminal Justice Educational and Charitable Association, Senior Assistant State's Attorney James A. Killen, Inspector Mark J. Puglielli, Paralegal Specialist Suzanne Colley, Chief State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin and Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Don E. Therkildsen, Jr.
(Southington, CT) – The Connecticut Criminal Justice Educational and Charitable Association held its 21st Annual John M. Bailey Memorial Scholarship & Awards Dinner on June 12, 2025 at the Aqua Turf in Southington, Connecticut.
The 2025 Oliver Ellsworth Prosecutor of the Year Award was presented to Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Don E. Therkildsen, Jr., of the Judicial District of Waterbury.
Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Therkildsen was honored with the award for his exemplary work in the Waterbury Judicial District where he has prosecuted some of the District’s most high-profile and difficult cases while managing staff members and assisting victims and members of the community. He also was recognized for his efforts assisting federal prosecutors as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the investigation and prosecution of several members of the 960 gang, a violent Waterbury street gang, as part of the Justice Department’s Project Safe Neighborhoods and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces programs.
Attorney Therkildsen meets regularly with schools and community groups and is the office representative at the Project Safe Neighborhoods and Project Longevity meetings, programs that bring together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other serious crime. He also is active in training programs at police and citizens academies and serves as a mentor to junior prosecutors.
Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Therkildsen was appointed a Deputy Assistant State’s Attorney in 1999 and in addition to the Waterbury Judicial District, has worked at Geographical Area No. 7 in Meriden and Geographical Area No. 4 in Waterbury.
The 2025 Kevin T. Kane Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Senior Assistant State's Attorney James A. Killen of the Appellate Bureau in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney.
Senior Assistant State's Attorney Killen was recognized for his exemplary work in the Appellate Bureau in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney where he spent most of his career handling appeals and representing the Commissioner of Correction on state and federal habeas corpus matters. A gifted writer and invaluable resource to prosecutors throughout the Division of Criminal Justice, he was lauded for his tireless assistance to others in the Division and his mentorship to younger prosecutors. He joined the Division of Criminal Justice as a Deputy Assistant State’s Attorney in 1986 and served in the Appellate Bureau until the mid-1990s when Attorney Killen became the first supervisor of the Civil Litigation Bureau, created to handle the growing number of post-conviction challenges across the state.
When he transferred back to the Appellate Bureau, Attorney Killen continued to be a fierce advocate for the State of Connecticut, working on several significant cases, including Johnson v. Commissioner of Correction, wherein the Court adopted the state’s present procedural default standard in habeas cases, and Miller v. Commissioner of Correction, wherein the Court adopted a standard for dealing with claims of actual innocence.
The 2025 Division of Criminal Justice Employee of the Year Award was presented to Paralegal Specialist Suzanne Colley of the Cold Case Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney.
Paralegal Specialist Colley was honored for her steadfast support of the prosecutors assigned to the Cold Case Unit and her dedication to the Division of Criminal Justice. She joined the Division in 2003 as a clerk in the Hartford Judicial District and worked in the Hartford State’s Attorney’s Office until 2018, when she was promoted and transferred to the Windham Judicial District as a Secretary 2. In 2020, she moved to the Cold Case Unit at the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney and within three years, was promoted to Paralegal Specialist.
Prosecutors laud her tireless assistance with trial preparation and her collaborative work with other law enforcement agencies, defense counsel, and her work to improve the Division’s case management system.
A Special Recognition Award was presented to Inspector Mark J. Puglielli of the Litchfield Judicial District.
Inspector Puglielli was recognized for his tenacious pursuit of justice and desire to protect the most vulnerable members of society as part of his work investigating a lottery scam targeting the elderly. The investigation started nearly two years ago with an arrest warrant for a defendant involved in a crime involving a single victim in Roxbury, Connecticut. Recognizing that there could be additional victims, Inspector Puglielli worked with U.S. Postal Inspectors, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Army Intelligence analysts, and other federal authorities to identify victims across the nation whose financial losses totaled millions of dollars. Their collaborative efforts have led to the indictments of two individuals in U.S. District Court. More arrests are possible.
After retiring from the West Hartford Police Department, Inspector Puglielli joined the Division of Criminal Justice in 2013 as one of the first Inspectors in the newly created Statewide Prosecution Bureau’s Unemployment Compensation Fraud Unit in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney. In that position, he developed strong working relationships with officials at the state Department of Labor and with federal law enforcement authorities. In 2019, he transferred to the Litchfield Judicial District.
The Connecticut Criminal Justice Educational and Charitable Association, which was created by members of the Division of Criminal Justice, provides scholarships to the sons and daughters of those who have served in law enforcement or who intend to pursue a career in law enforcement or juvenile justice. At the June 12, 2025 dinner, scholarships were awarded to high school students in the name of former Chief State’s Attorney John M. Bailey, in the name of retired Juvenile Prosecutor Francis J. Carino, and in the names of Inspector Racheal Cain and her husband, Christopher.
For more information about the awards and scholarships, visit the Connecticut Criminal Justice Educational and Charitable Association’s website: ccjeca.org.