Sutter resigns as Bristol County DA; acting DA appointed

FALL RIVER, Mass. (WPRI) — Newly appointed Fall River Mayor Sam Sutter is officially stepping down from his role as Bristol County District Attorney.

Sutter confirmed to Eyewitness News that he submitted his resignation to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick effective Friday.

• Watch: Sam Sutter on Newsmakers Jan. 2

Subsequently, Patrick named Bristol County First Assistant District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III as the Acting District Attorney for Bristol County.

“Tom brings a special depth of experience as a prosecutor in the Bristol County DA’s office,” said Governor Patrick. “I am making this appointment now to assure the stability of the critical work of the office and fully respect the authority of the incoming Governor to make his own appointment in due course.”

Quinn’s appointment as Acting District Attorney will be effective immediately.

Sutter, on the other hand, was sworn into office as the new mayor of Fall River Tuesday during a ceremony at Fall River City Hall – but when he did not immediately resign as district attorney after taking office as mayor, it fueled speculation he wanted a say in who got the job.

“I wanted to know who to the next district attorney was going to be,” Sutter explained Friday during a taping of this week’s Newsmakers. “There would be no way to effect a proper transition without knowing who the next district attorney was going to be, so before I stepped down I wanted to know who that was.”

Sutter, who was the Bristol County District Attorney at the time he was elected, defeated Will Flanagan in a recall election held on Dec. 16.

An election to select the next District Attorney in his absence will occur in November 2016, the next biennial election.Ted Nesi contributed to this report.