LIVINGSTON TWP. -- New Otsego County assistant prosecutor John Vella’s interests include boxing and hockey -- he boxed while an undergraduate student at Eastern Michigan University -- but what the 28-year-old graduate of Thomas M. Cooley Law School really loves is his new job.

“I love it here. I love the job. I wanted to see what it was like on the other side of the fence,” said Vella who prior to his move north in April worked as a criminal defense and civil litigation attorney for three and a half years in Oakland and Washtenaw counties.

Vella fills a vacancy created in the prosecutor’s office after former Chief Assistant Prosecutor Brendan Curran was terminated by prosecutor Kyle Legel in March. Curran is currently employed on a temporary basis until next month as  an assistant prosecutor for Alpena County.

After Curran’s dismissal, Legel promoted then assistant prosecutor Manda Breuker to the position of chief assistant prosecutor for Otsego County, paving the way for Vella’s first venture working in a prosecutor’s office. Vella said he is primarily responsible for covering district court cases while Legel mainly works out of circuit court and Breuker handles family court.

“Kyle and Manda have been great working with me, answering my questions and it’s working out well with the staff in district court. It makes my job pretty easy even though I’ve been putting in a lot of time in my office. I haven’t even had time to unpack my stuff,” Vella said, relishing the challenge of being a member of the county prosecutor’s team.

“I’d been looking at working in a prosecutor’s office for some time so when the chance came to move to Gaylord I took it. I’ve always been interested in rural areas like Gaylord,” said Vella who grew up just north of Ann Arbor. “The traffic is certainly better up here. I’ve been hearing about the snow up here in the winter, so I’ve been preparing myself for that.”

Vella said he likes the fact he is able to handle a diverse number of cases in his new position with the prosecutor’s office.

“It’s pretty different from downstate. In Oakland County they have over 30 prosecutors and each have their own specialty areas. If you handle CSC cases that’s all you handle.

“It seems to be a more close-knit group here compared to what I’ve seen in the larger counties. It’s nice to be able to smile every day at work. This has, by far, been the best career decision I have made.”

• Visitor Comments

2 comment(s)