Mangino will serve on probation board

The former prosecutor was appointed to a six-year term.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Instead of putting people behind bars, Matthew Mangino will now decide if they can be released from prison.
Lawrence County's former district attorney has been appointed to a six-year term on the Pennsylvania Probation and Parole Board by Gov. Ed Rendell. The state Senate approved his nomination June 29.
"I'm excited. I spent eight years putting people in jail. Now I will spend six years deciding if they can be released from jail," said Mangino.
Mangino, 43, was Lawrence County's district attorney from 1998 to 2006. He left office after unsuccessfully seeking election as a county common pleas court judge.
Mangino said that for the past three months he has been working on a project for the National District Attorney's Association and living in Alexandria, Va., overseeing training for prosecutors and parole and probation officers when dealing with terrorism. He has been commuting back to New Castle on weekends where his wife and children remained.
He hopes to finish that work in the next few weeks and then start his new position.
The probation and parole board sets policy as well as conducts hearings to decide if inmates can be released from the state prison system. Each of the nine members is paid $108,734 annually, said spokesman Nate Bortner. By statute, board members are unable to hold any other job or hold any elected office while serving.
No conflict
Bortner said Mangino is the board's first former prosecutor and they don't believe it will create a conflict if any cases come before the board from Lawrence County.
Mangino noted that all nine board members sit in on cases for the most serious offenders seeking probation and parole, but in other cases board members are sent out singly with a hearing officer to determine if a person can be released.
Rendell said that Mangino was a natural choice for the board because of his background in law.
Mangino said he and his family will remain in New Castle for now but may relocate to Harrisburg where the board's main office is located.
cioffi@vindy.com