On November 6, 2018, Peter F. Neronha was elected as Rhode Island’s 74^th Attorney General. He was sworn in on January 1, 2019. As the top legal official in Rhode Island, Attorney General Neronha leads an office that prosecutes criminal cases; represents state agencies, departments and commissions in litigation; initiates legal action when necessary to protect the interests of Rhode Islanders; and oversees the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation.

At the appointment of President Barack Obama, Mr. Neronha served as the United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island from 2009 to 2017.  In this role, he supervised the prosecution of federal crimes and the litigation of civil matters in which the federal government had an interest, either as a plaintiff or defendant.  As United States Attorney, he was appointed by United States Attorney General Eric Holder and later Attorney General Loretta Lynch to terms on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee.

Mr. Neronha’s career in public service began in 1996, when he was appointed as a Rhode Island Special Assistant Attorney General, and later was appointed as an Assistant Attorney General.  Serving in the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office until 2002, he prosecuted a variety of jury and non-jury criminal matters in the state courts.  Mr. Neronha went on to join the United States Attorney’s Office as an Assistant United States Attorney in 2002. During his time in that office, Mr. Neronha served in several roles, including as Chief of the Organized Crime Strike Force.

A fourth generation native of Jamestown, Rhode Island, Neronha graduated in 1985 summa cum laude from Boston College. In 1989, he graduated magna cum laude from Boston College Law School, where he was a member of the Boston College Law Review.  From 1989 to 1996, he worked for the Boston, Massachusetts law firm Goodwin, Proctor L.L.P.