BOSTON (AP) — The state has a new parole board chairman.
The Governor’s Council on Wednesday confirmed Paul Treseler to the post. Treseler — who served for nearly two decades as a prosecutor in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office — was Gov. Charlie Baker’s pick to serve as head of the Massachusetts Parole Board.
The board grants parole and supervises parolees. It also makes recommendations on granting pardons and commutations.
Among those seeking a pardon from the state is actor Mark Wahlberg who committed violent assaults as a teen in Boston in 1988 when he hit a man in the head with a wooden stick while trying to steal alcohol from a convenience store and punched another man in the face.
He was sentenced to three months in jail and served about 45 days.
“Paul Treseler’s impressive track record of leadership will be an asset to an agency that is critically important to our dual goals of bolstering reentry programs and lowering the rate of recidivism in the Commonwealth,” said Baker. “I am pleased to congratulate Paul and thank the Governor’s Council for approving this important appointment.”
The seven members of the Parole Board are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Governor’s Council. Members are appointed for five year terms or to fill the unexpired term of a prior member. Board members serve on a full time basis. The Governor designates one member of the Board as the Chairman, who acts as the executive and administrative head of the Board.
