Michael R. Barry
WEST CHESTER — District Attorney Deb Ryan recently announced her appointment of Michael R. Barry as First Assistant District Attorney, Andrea Cardamone as Chief of Staff, and David M. Sassa as Chief of the Chester County Detectives.
“This is an outstanding team of highly experienced, ethical, and hardworking people who have dedicated their careers to public service,” Ryan said. “They all have extensive backgrounds in law enforcement as well as lengthy records of success in serving and protecting the community. I am incredibly proud to have them working at the District Attorney’s Office in these positions.”
Barry served as a prosecutor at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office for almost 19 years. He has handled thousands of cases throughout his career. Barry worked for five years in the appellate unit and trial division. Later, he served as a homicide prosecutor for six years where he handled over one hundred and fifty cases. He was promoted to Bureau Chief of the Central Division in 2010 and supervised fifteen attorneys for all non-homicide crimes in North Philadelphia and Center City for six years. Barry then served as the Deputy District Attorney of the Pretrial Division for two years where he oversaw a team of one hundred prosecutors and staff.
He was the co-chair for the MacArthur Safety and Justice Challenge’s Racial and Ethnic Diversity Subcommittee, chair of the hiring committee, and taught the office’s clinical training program. He was awarded the 2009 F.O.P. Lodge of Award of Special Recognition for the successful prosecution of a case involving the murder of two retired police officers, the 2014 Center City Crime Victim’s Service Community Safety and Public Dedication Award, and the 2016 Philadelphia Gay News Person of the Year for the successful prosecution of Com. v. Williams, et. al. a.k.a. “Center City Gay Bashing Case.” He graduated from Temple University Beasley School of Law in 1998 and the University of Scranton with a B.A. in Philosophy in 1994. He will start in the office on January 27, 2020.
Andrea Cardamone
Andrea Cardamone has worked at the Chester County District Attorney’s Office for more than 17 years. She has successfully prosecuted some of the most complex and difficult cases, from homicides to corruption, over the course of her career. As Deputy District Attorney, she supervised the investigations and prosecutions of sexual assault cases. Cardamone also ran the Elder Abuse Task Force and served as an Intern Supervisor. She worked as an adjunct professor at West Chester University for 10 years and serves as President of the Board of Trustees for the Malvern Public Library. She received the Anti-Defamation League’s 2017 Beau Biden Shield Award and the 2018 Chester County Prosecutor of the Year Award. She graduated from Harvard Law School, magna cum laude, in 1999 and, summa cum laude from Washington and Lee University in 1993 with a B.A. in Economics and English
David Sassa has been a law enforcement officer for over thirty years. With his twenty-four years at the Chester County Detectives, he is the longest serving detective currently employed at the District Attorney’s office. Sassa was a police officer at the North Coventry Township Police Department from 1989-1996, where he served as a patrol officer, detective, and sergeant.
David Sassa
He has worked at the Chester County District Attorney’s Office since 1996 as a detective in the drug and major crimes units. He was the Detective Sergeant in charge of the major crimes and child abuse units for over eleven years. Sassa served as the Executive Director of the Children’s Advocacy Center since 2014, and worked on several child abuse prevention statewide committees. Sassa has extensive experience investigating major crimes including, homicides, robberies, narcotics, sexual assaults, and child abuse investigations. He is certified as a police firearms and rifle instructor through the Pennsylvania State Police. He was the recipient of the John J. Crane Award for Excellence in 2017 for his work protecting children. He graduated from the Montgomery County Police Academy Act 120 program in 1989, and holds an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Montgomery County Community College. He graduated from the FBI National Academy in 2014.
