Gerard T. “Gerry” Leone Jr. served as the

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

Middlesex County, Massachusetts Middlesex County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,632,002, making it the most populous county in both Massachusetts and New England and the 22nd most populou ...

from 2007 to 2013. He was formerly a partner at the law firm, Nixon Peabody. He was then the General Counsel for the Office of the President at UMass. He currently leads the Higher Education legal practice a
Special Counsel at Hunton Andrews Kurth, LLP

Early life and education

Leone was born in

Franklin, Massachusetts The Town of Franklin is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Franklin is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipalities that have applied for, and been granted, city forms of government but wish to retain "The town of" in their ...

and attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, where he was a member of the

Harvard Crimson football The Harvard Crimson football program represents Harvard University in college football at the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Harvard's football program is one ...

team from 1982–85, and the

Harvard Boxing Club The Harvard Boxing Club is a student organization at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. History Boxing has been a popular campus activity since the mid 19th century. It was first documented by Boston newspapers citing Harvard studen ...

. He attended

Suffolk University Law School Suffolk University Law School (also known as Suffolk Law School) is the Private university, private, non-sectarian law school of Suffolk University located in Downtown Boston, downtown Boston, across the street from the Boston Common and the Fr ...

at night, graduating in 1989.

Legal career

Leone's first legal job was as an assistant district attorney in the Middlesex County District Attorney's office. He worked there for a little over a decade before taking a job as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Massachusetts. His most notable case was the prosecution of

Richard Reid Richard Colvin Reid (born 12 August 1973), also known as the "Shoe Bomber", is a British terrorist who perpetrated the failed shoe bombing attempt against a transatlantic flight in 2001. Born to a father who was a career criminal, Reid convert ...

, better known as the " Shoe Bomber". He was named the

FBI Director The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a United States federal law enforcement agency, and is responsible for its day-to-day operations. The FBI director is appointed for a ...

's Award and the Executive Office for the United States Attorneys’ Director’s Award. He served in the office from 2001 to 2005 and was eventually promoted to be the First Assistant United States Attorney. In 2006, Leone resigned from his federal prosecutor position in order to serve as the Middlesex County District Attorney. He was reelected for a second term in 2010. In April 2013, Leone resigned as Middlesex County District Attorney in order to become a partner at Nixon Peabody (focusing on governmental investigations and white collar criminal defense).

Prosecution of Aisling Brady McCarthy

Leone was the District Attorney who in April 2013 initially charged Irish nanny Aisling Brady McCarthy with

first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse ...

in the death of a one-year-old girl, Rehma Sabir. Brady McCarthy spent 27 months in a

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

prison, and a further 3 months in

House Arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...

. On 1 September 2015 all charges against Brady McCarthy were dropped after Leone's successor as DA for Middlesex, Massachusetts Marian Ryan said: "Based on an assessment of the present state of the evidence, including the amended ruling from the medical examiner who performed the autopsy, the Commonwealth cannot meet its burden of proof."US murder charge dropped against Irish nanny
/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leone, Gerard Living people District attorneys in Middlesex County, Massachusetts American prosecutors Harvard University alumni Suffolk University Law School alumni 1960s births Year of birth missing (living people)