WESTFIELD–The Westfield District Court’s clerk-magistrate will be retiring Sept. 5, after nearly 27 years serving in the role.
Clerk-magistrate Carol Kantany-Casartello is set to retire Tuesday, joining two other Westfield District Court clerk-magistrate employees who retired on Sept. 1. Kantany-Casartello leaves with nearly 27 years of experience in the position and about 39 years of experience working in law.
Westfield District Court clerk-magistrate Carol Kantany-Casartello
“I have very mixed feelings about leaving,” Kantany-Casartello said. “Westfield District Court is a very unique and effective court. It’s a great honor to work here, especially with staff in all areas that work here.”
Kantany-Casartello said that part of the pleasure of working at Westfield District Court is working alongside Westfield District Court’s First Judge Philip A. Contant. Both remarked that they worked together as a team during their time together.
“We’ve had a real genuine partnership in this court, the two of us, over the last 25 years,” Contant said.
According to Contant, Kantany-Casartello was the model of public service during the time she has served.
Westfield District Court First Judge Philip A. Contant (L) with Westfield District Court Clerk-magistrate Carol Kantany-Casartello (R) at the judge’s bench in a courtroom at Westfield District Court
“I really think she’s one of the best clerk-magistrates in the entire state and is well-respected in the entire state,” he said.
“It’s going to be very traumatic for me to lose her after all these years,” he added. “She is very wise in dealings that come up. I never worried about decisions or judgments she would make.”
Kantany-Casartello, who earned three degrees, including her Juris Doctor at Hofstra University School of Law and her LL.M in American Banking Studies at Boston University School of Law, began her legal career as a Hampden County District Attorney in 1978. She left that position for private practice at Dusel, Murphy and Fennell in 1988.
According to Kantany-Casartello, while in private practice she said she came to miss the public service aspect of her previous position.
“I really loved being an assistant district attorney,” she said.
She was made aware of the vacant clerk-magistrate position in Westfield and she was able to garner herself the position after a rigorous process that included interviews, reviews and hearings, eventually being sworn in as clerk-magistrate of the Westfield District Court on Nov. 24, 1992, by Gov. William Weld.
This entire career trajectory could have been different though, if Kantany-Casartello followed one of her first passions.
“I wanted to be an English teacher,” Kantany-Casartello, who graduated with a bachelors of arts in English from UMass, said.
However, after talking with the late Frank H. Freedman, who held positions including mayor of Springfield and Chief Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, she said that she decided to pursue law school.
Westfield District Court clerk-magistrate Carol Kantany-Casartello (L) with first-assistant clerk-magistrate Nathan A. Byrnes (R)
The position being left vacant with Kantany-Casartello’s retirement will be filled by current-first assistant clerk-magistrate for the Westfield District Court Nathan A. Byrnes.
Byrnes, a Westfield resident, will serve as acting clerk-magistrate, and previously practiced as a lawyer in private practice from 1998 to 2005, before becoming first assistant clerk-magistrate at Westfield District Court in February 2005.
Byrnes said that Kantany-Casartello has set an example for him professionally, including how to treat people with dignity and respect.
“Can’t imagine working for a better role model,” he said. “Hopefully I just carry on the example that she set.”
In addition to Kantany-Casartello’s retirement, the Westfield District Court also had two other employees retiring from the clerk-magistrate’s office. Eileen Hebda, who Contant said worked 28 years for the court, and Sally Ascolillo, who Contant said worked 32 years at the court. Both retired Sept. 1.
Carol Kantany-Casartello (L) and Eileen Hebda (R)
Contant praised Hebda and Ascolillo for their work, saying that they helped people go through the court processes that could be unfamiliar and stressful, including small claims and restraining orders.
“They both have great people skills in jobs where they interact with people a lot,” Contant said.
