Gaziano ’86 Appointed to the Massachusetts Superior Court

As an assistant U.S. attorney assigned to the Organized Crime Strike Force, Frank Gaziano ’86 has prosecuted large-scale organized crime groups. Most recently, he was the lead prosecutor in the capital case of United States v. Gary Less Sampson, in which the defendant was charged with a carjacking that resulted in death.

Now, Gaziano will be on the other side of the bench as an associate justice of the Superior Court.

“I am looking forward to returning to the state court system,” he says. “I expect to transition from my role as an advocate into a neutral jurist. I am also looking forward to handling the variety of complex criminal and civil cases filed in the Superior Court.”

Prior to working for the Unites States Attorney’s Office, Gaziano worked as a state prosecutor in the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office in Brockton, Mass. While in the DA’s office, he was assigned to the Superior Court, prosecuting major felonies such as murders and rapes. He also argued numerous appellate cases before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

A government and law graduate, Gaziano received his law degree from Suffolk University Law School. He has taught criminal law and procedure as an adjunct professor at Stonehill College and lectured on forensic evidence at Harvard Law School and the Kennedy School of Government.

While at Lafayette, he was impacted by various members of the faculty and staff, including Jacob Cooke and Richard Welch, former heads of the history department.

“They were skilled communicators who were able to transfer their enthusiasm for American history to the class,” he says. “I was also impacted by [former football] coach Bill Russo and his staff. He brought me and my twin brother Joe, to Lafayette and gave me the opportunity to play football at a high level without sacrificing academics.”