AUGUSTA, Maine — Long-time homicide prosecutor Lisa Marchese has been named chief of the criminal division of the Maine attorney general’s office, according to a press release issued Wednesday.
Marchese, 54, of Portland was named deputy attorney general following the confirmation last week by the Maine Senate of William Stokes as a Superior Court justice. Stokes headed the criminal division for decades before being nominated to the bench.
She was sworn in Tuesday, according to Timothy Feeley, spokesman for the attorney general.
“Attorney Marchese has proven herself in the courtroom to be a tenacious attorney, always seeking justice on behalf of victims,” Attorney General Janet T. Mills said in the press release. “Lisa has also worked hard outside the courtroom to prevent tragedies stemming from acts of domestic violence. She is a leader in our office and in the legal community and I am proud to name her as chief of the Criminal Division.”
Marchese, who has been a prosecutor for 28 years, will be the first woman to coordinate the state’s prosecution of many of the highest profile crimes in Maine. She has worked in the division she will now head since 1986.
She was the lead prosecutor on the team that obtained the convictions in May of Randall Daluz, 36, of Brockton, Massachusetts, and Nicholas Sexton 33, of Warwick, Rhode Island, in connection with the drug-related slayings of Nicolle Lugdon, 24, of Eddington; Daniel Borders, 26, of Hermon and Lucas Tuscano, 28, of Bradford in August 2012 in Bangor.
Marchese has led the Domestic Abuse Homicide Review Panel since 2001. The review panel is the only entity that conducts an in-depth analysis of domestic abuse homicides in order to better understand the dynamics that led up to the incident with the intention of identifying ways to prevent future tragedies. She has been recognized as a top authority in Maine for the prevention of domestic violence. In 2010 Marchese was awarded the Caroline Duby Glassman award by the Maine State Bar Association for her relentless pursuit of justice for victims and their families and for her efforts to serve as a role model for younger and less experienced attorneys.
The criminal division has exclusive jurisdiction over homicides in Maine and is responsible for homicide and other criminal appeals, prosecuting financial crimes, pursuing frauds perpetrated against the State and prosecuting most major drug crimes. It also advises the bureaus within the Department of Public Safety on legal matters.
Marchese is a native of Bangor. She graduated from Bangor High School, the University of Maine and Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, New Hampshire. She is married to Jon Eames and has two sons.