A Biography of 

Register Richard Iannella:

Richard Iannella was born in Jamaica Plain, a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. He is the fourth child and second son of Virginia Nelson Iannella and the late Christopher A. Iannella.

Virginia N. Iannella was born and raised in the Saint Brendan's Parish section of Dorchester. Christopher A. Iannella was born in San Sossio Baronia, Province of Avellino, Italy. He emigrated to the United States at the age of eight. He attended Boston College and the Harvard Law School and was a member of the Massachusetts Bar. He was elected to the Massachusetts legislature four times and was a longtime member of the Boston City Council. He served as President of that body longer than any other person.

Richard is married to the former Arlene Abell. They make their home in Jamaica Plain. They have two daughters.

Richard's older brother, Christopher A. Iannella, Jr., is a practicing attorney, a founding partner of the Boston firm, Iannella & Mummolo. He is an elected member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council which confirms judicial officers and other major appointments of the Governor, approves pardons, etc. 

Richard also has two sisters. Judith Boland of Concord is a sales associate for Coldwell Banker. Suzanne Iannella is also a real estate sales associate for Daniel Mullin Real Estate in Boston. She also serves as one of three Commissioners of the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission.

Richard Iannella was the first Director of Code Enforcement for the City of Boston. He was hired to form this agency, charged with enforcing various regulations and ordinances of the city - generally called the 'Environmental Ordinances.' He gained considerable notoriety by bringing legal actions against prominent institutions who were violating the ordinances, including the five-star Ritz Carlton Hotel. This led to his notoriety as "Boston's Dirtiest Street Fighter."

In 1993, Richard was elected to the Boston City Council. He served as a member or chair of several important Council Committees, including service as Chair of the Committee on Planning and Development. He also chaired the Committee on Environment and Historic Preservation. In 1995, he was elected to a second two-year term.

In 1996, Richard was elected by the voters of Suffolk County - all of Boston, Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop - to his current position as Register of Probate for Suffolk County. Although not required to do so by law, he resigned his City Council seat to assume the county post.

Since becoming Register of Probate, Richard has continually been recognized by other elected officials, members of the media and the public at-large as an outspoken advocate for users of the Registry and the Probate Court. Just after taking office, Richard streamlined Registry operations in order to better serve the public. Because more than half of those who come to court do so without a lawyer, he sought and received legislative funding to assist these unrepresented litigants, and was able to develop and distribute self-help pamphlets. In 2000, he officially opened the Addington Resource Center - the first do-it-yourself center in the Commonwealth. 

Since his election, Richard has also established a new partnership to better assist those affected by domestic violence, and expanded the "Lawyer for the Day" program, where volunteer attorneys are available to give eligible Registry clients legal assistance and advice. He received national attention for his successful recovery of wills and other documents that had been stolen from the Registry. (The papers were signed by legendary Hall of Fame baseball stars, and were worth thousands of dollars on the open market.)