Caccaviello Recognized as Prosecutor of the Year
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Berkshire First Assistant District Attorney Paul J. Caccaviello is one of three recipients of the William C. O'Malley Memorial Prosecutor of the Year Award.
It's the second time the award has been presented to a Berkshire prosecutor in the last decade; District Attorney David E. Capeless was given the award in 1997 when he was first assistant. It is given by the Massachusetts District Attorneys Association.
"It really is a humbling experience," said Caccaviello on Friday afternoon, adding it was an honor to be chosen considering "the good work being done across the state."
The Berkshire district attorney's office is among the smallest state. There are about 700 prosecutors statewide.
"I was proud to nominate Paul for this honor. It is a tribute to his 19-year career as a prosecutor ... his leadership, courtroom skills, mentoring of younger prosecutors, and his commitment to our mission in the district attorney's office to seek justice," said Capeless in a statement.
The award was presented at the MDAA's annual Prosecutors Conference last Wednesday evening at the Seaport Hotel. It is presented annually to one or more individuals who have shown "the special combination of talents embodied in a truly outstanding prosecutor."
The award was created in honor of O'Malley, the district attorney in Plymouth County from 1979 until his death in 1995 at age 52. The other recipients were Joseph A. Quinlan of Worcester County and Mary Alice Doyle of Essex County.
A native of Pittsfield, Caccaviello is a graduate of Pittsfield High School, Berkshire Community College, the former North Adams State College and Western New England School of Law. He is the son of Rose Caccaviello of Pittsfield and the late Vincent Caccaviello. He lives in Dalton with his wife, Karen, and his 5-year-old daughter, Grace.
Caccaviello has spent his entire career in the Berkshire district attorney's office — even interning there during the summer of 1988. He started as a prosecutor in the office in August 1989.
He was named first assistant in 2004 by his predecessor Capeless, who won the election that year to complete the term of the late District Attorney Gerard D. Downing.
As first assistant, Caccaviello is the chief trial lawyer and the district attorney's primary adviser.
Since then, he's prosecuted some of the county's most notorious murder cases, including the shooting death of a drug dealer in North Adams that resulted in a life sentence for James J. Smith and the successful conviction of Damien Lamb in the beating death of Brandon LaBonte.
The LaBonte case was probably the most difficult — and the most satisfying — trial in his career.
"It was especially meaningful," said Caccaviello because he was able to convince the jury that there had been a murder without producing the body.
The case was built around Lamb's previous violent actions against LaBonte, a Savoy resident who attended Hoosac Valley High School in Cheshire, and the testimony of eyewitnesses.
LaBonte's body was never recovered but Lamb, of Iowa, was convicted of second-degree murder and is serving life in prison.
Caccaviello said he wasn't aware of another case in the state quite like this one. Other murder trials have been conducted without the victim's body as evidence but trace evidence — blood, fingerprints, etc. — were used. In LaBonte's case, it was his complete disappearance that served as evidence.
"The absence of a body does mean that he lives," Caccaviello continued. There were no bills paid, no calls made home, no friends contacted. "You leave your footprint on life. ... Once the footprint stops ... .
"We had to go about it in a different way. It was definitely a challenge."
Winning the case didn't bring LaBonte back but it did give his parents at least some closure.
"Prosecuting a case can be very rewarding because of the impact you make on people's lives," said Caccaviello.
Capeless, too, noted the LaBonte case as one Caccaviello's most "notable accomplishments."
"Paul has been called upon to supervise all Superior Court prosecutions and to handle our most high-profile and difficult investigations and cases, and he has come through in a big way," he said. "He represents all that one would look for and expect in a top-rate prosecutor — an unwavering commitment to justice, outstanding ability, an uncommon knack for understanding and communicating with people and unquestioned moral and work ethics."
Caccaviello credits his success to the team in the district attorney's office.
"I work with a great staff here at the office. We do our very best every day."
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