Longtime DA won't run for new term
30 years in office enough for Conte
(Correction: Because of a reporting error, a story about Worcester District Attorney John Conte deciding not to run for reelection incorrectly described Joseph D. Early as the late US representative from Worcester. Early is not deceased.)
Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte, the state's longest-serving elected prosecutor, said yesterday that he will not seek reelection this fall after 30 years in office.
The 75-year-old Conte made the announcement in a press release distributed by his office yesterday. In an era where being media-savvy and camera-friendly has become as much of the district attorney's job as chasing crooks, Conte has been an unapologetic throwback who rarely speaks to the media.
''I am profoundly grateful to the voters who have repeatedly entrusted me to represent them and who have always maintained confidence in me," he said in the release. ''It seems like yesterday that great leaders of our time such as President [John F.] Kennedy inspired me and others to enter public service."
Conte, a Worcester native who graduated from Holy Cross, was first appointed to fill a vacancy in the post in 1976 by then-Governor Michael S. Dukakis. He was returned to the job by the voters in 1978 and has run mostly unopposed ever since. Before becoming district attorney, Conte worked as a teacher and then served in the state Senate for 14 years.
Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley said yesterday that Conte has ''served Worcester County in a very practical way."
While the state's other district attorneys may have been more active in pushing cutting-edge legislation and crime prevention techniques, Coakley said that Conte has served as an elder statesman, helping keep the group in touch with its traditional core mission.
''It is important in this job to keep your moorings and remember that the main job of being a DA is to put criminals in jail," she said.
In recent years, events have thrust Conte into the public eye perhaps more than he would have liked, those who know him said yesterday.
As he retires, he may well leave unsolved perhaps the most high-profile case of his tenure: the disappearance of Molly Bish, the teenage lifeguard who vanished after reporting for work at a Warren pond in 2000. The remains of the 16-year-old Bish were discovered in nearby Palmer three years ago, and a special grand jury convened by Conte continues to probe her death.
Recently, Conte also became embroiled in a controversy involving Attorney General Thomas Reilly and two teenage sisters who were killed in a car crash in Southborough on Oct. 13. After the crash, Reilly called Conte, whose office was investigating the case, to tell him that autopsy reports detailing the sisters' blood alcohol levels did not have to be released to the public. Conte later declined to prosecute a 20-year-old man whom police suspected had allowed Shauna and Meghan Murphy to drink alcohol in his house before they died.
Campaign finance records showed that the girls' father, Christopher Murphy, donated $300 to Reilly's gubernatorial campaign. Reilly and Conte both denied any wrongdoing, and Conte later said that police were free to bring charges on their own without seeking approval from his office.
Reilly, who formally announced his own candidacy for governor yesterday, issued a statement calling Conte a ''tremendous public servant."
Conte said in his statement that he made the decision on Christmas Day after months of consideration and discussion with his family. The controversy involving Reilly surfaced in January.
Coming so early in the year, Conte's announcement leaves a wide open field and plenty of time for potential replacements to get their campaigns up and running. The district, which is comprised of 59 cities and towns in Worcester County and the Norfolk County town of Bellingham, is fairly evenly split down party lines, with Democratic residents holding a slim majority.
At least two Democrats are said to be eyeing the job. Joseph Early Jr., the son of late US Representative Joseph Early, has already announced that he is planning a run. State Representative Harold P. ''Hank" Naughton, a US Army lawyer who is currently serving in Iraq, is also said to be exploring a possible candidacy.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. 