The Criminal Justice Commission on Thursday voted unanimously to appoint Attorney Paul J. Narducci as the new state's attorney for the New London Judicial District Court.

Narducci, born and raised in New London, has been practicing law in the New London district since 1994, most recently as the supervisory assistant state's attorney.

The commission interviewed Narducci and one other candidate, attorney Brett J. Salafia, for the position over Zoom on Thursday morning, asking the candidates a litany of questions about their experience in the courtroom, their involvement in their communities, their goals for the district and their plans to uphold justice if appointed.

After interviewing each candidate for about an hour, the commission moved into executive session on a separate video conference and returned to vote. Commissioner Moy N. Ogilvie moved to appoint Narducci as the state's attorney and the commissioners voted unanimously in support of Narducci's nomination.

He will be taking over for State's Attorney Michael Regan, 66, who is retiring Sunday after more than 14 years as the city's top prosecutor and a career in the judicial district spanning nearly four decades.

Community connection

Narducci, 59, lives in Stonington with his wife and together they have three children. He attended New London Public Schools, St. Bernard High School, College of the Holy Cross and Suffolk University Law School. He has been practicing law in New London since 1994 and during his interview Thursday detailed his successful career thus far.

Narducci has worked in the Part A court for over 20 years and has been the Supervising State’s Attorney in Part A for 18 months. He has tried over 50 cases to verdict, he said, and handled thousands of cases from investigations through post-trial motions. He has argued about 25 cases to the Appellate Court and Supreme Court, he said. He also has assisted in large-scale investigations, participated in grand juries and conducted three trials at the federal level, he said.

“I’ve been privileged to be involved in all aspects of the State’s Attorney’s Office,” he said, adding that throughout his career he has also been “heavily active in the community.”

“I am seeking this position because I am the best person that I believe can lead this office into the future,” he told the commission Thursday. “I have a true passion for this job, I love being a state’s attorney, but I have a true passion for my community. I was born and raised here; I’ve lived here most of my life.”

In addition to his work as an attorney, Narducci highlighted his work in the community as a frequent panelist and with civic organizations, including the Norwich Heroin Task Force and Project Safe Neighborhoods in New London and Norwich. He also has spoken and taught at local high schools and colleges and is an adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut Law School.

That community connection, he said, would drive his efforts to make his community safer and ramp up community engagement. “Part of doing justice is making sure the community is safe and feels secure,” he said. He noted, "I’ve spent my career developing relationships, I’ve worked hard at being fair and transparent and trying to ensure that justice is done, and I will tirelessly continue these ideals and carry on the traditions of this office.”

The new state's attorney said he hopes to continue New London County’s commitment to "doing the right thing always, making sure that justice is served and respecting the needs of the community are continued, but also to ensure that we address the deficits that are out there and continue to improve as an office and as part of this community.”

To do so, he said he hopes to re-engage with the community, to have regular meetings with stakeholders and work more closely with new police officers, prosecutors and public defenders. He said he plans to practice “eloquent listening and empathetic listening” to effectively hear the concerns of the community.

Narducci said he hopes to help explain the criminal justice system to new police recruits by having them observe court and hopes to expose new prosecutors to the realities of the prison system. “I think every new prosecutor should be required to tour one or more prisons; if you’re going to recommend that somebody be sent to prison, you better know damn well what that is like,” he said.

He hopes to encourage open dialogues with people who fail to appear in court, asking them if they were aware of their court date and have access to transportation or the internet before jumping directly to re-arrests, he said.

He also has plans for the State’s Attorney's office to participate in self-assessments to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges, he said.

"I'm extremely honored to have been appointed and I really hope I can carry on the tradition of this office and the excellence of the prior State's Attorneys," he said.

Narducci is “a great fit for the role,” his predecessor, Regan, said. “I think he will continue with the unique culture we have in New London Judicial District,” where judges like to sit, attorneys like to practice and attorneys, defendants and victims are treated fairly and respectfully, he said.

Entering a new chapter

Regan, who started his career in 1982 working part time at the Part A court before working full time at GA-10 court in 1986, was born and raised in New London and still lives in the city.

Looking back on his career, Regan said he was lucky to learn from two state’s attorneys who preceded him in the role, C. Robert Satti and Kevin Kane, whom he called “great mentors.”

The highlight of his career, though, was meeting his wife, Marsha, while she was working as a clerk at GA-10 in the late 1980s, he said. The two have been married for 27 years and have three children.

He said he will miss his colleagues in the courthouse as he enters this new chapter. “I work with such great people and the ones that are there now I’m going to miss, but I live in New London, so I’ll be around,” he said.

During the commission’s meeting Thursday, Chief State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo commended Regan for his service and said he had run his jurisdiction “flawlessly” for the past 15 years.

“We all wish Mr. Regan a happy and healthy retirement, well deserved after so many years of service to the state of Connecticut,” Judge Andrew J. McDonald said.

Judge Hillary B. Strackbein, who has worked with both Narducci and Regan for over eight years, said both are “stellar attorneys” who have always practiced with admirable openness, transparency and accessibility. Their cooperation with public defenders should be used as a model for other courts, she said. Although she will miss Regan, she said, “no one is more qualified than Paul Narducci to take over this position.”

Narducci “has learned from Mr. Regan and prior attorneys, yet he’s his own person and I’m sure he’ll bring great perspective to this position,” she said. “I look forward to working with him in this position as I did with Mr. Regan.”

Capt. Brian Wright of the New London Police Department said he has worked with Narducci for decades and looks forward to continuing their work together in his new capacity. He said Narducci is “an exceptional selection, I believe he will do a phenomenal job and comes with a wealth of knowledge.”

Narducci, who has been a law enforcement training officer certified with the Police Officers Standard and Training Council since 2000, has worked closely with police departments, including New London's, throughout his career.

“He has always been the utmost professional and his reputation precedes him,” Wright said. “I can’t say enough good things about him, he's a good person, good prosecutor, good attorney.”

Sean Kelly, supervisory assistant public defender of New London, also thinks Narducci is the right choice for the job. “He’s a fair just person of integrity and New London County is in very good hands.”

Kevin Barrs, public defender for New London County, agreed. "He's incredibly hardworking, prepared and disciplined and this is a well-deserved honor for him," he said.

t.hartz@theday.com