Joe Alioto Veronese
Joe Alioto Veronese is an American civil rights attorney, Democratic Party politician, and criminal justice reformer. Veronese serves on the California Senate's International Relations Board and is the co-founder and executive director of The National First Responders Fund, a non-profit foundation dedicated to supporting first responders with financial support and mental health programs. Veronese previously served as a California Criminal Justice Commissioner, San Francisco Police Commissioner, San Francisco Fire Commissioner, San Francisco District Attorney Investigator and Reserve San Francisco Police Officer. Family and personal life. Veronese was born in San Francisco, California in 1973 . Named after his grandfather, Mayor Joseph L. Alioto, Veronese is the son of Angela Alioto and Adolfo Veronese, owner and operator of several restaurants in San Francisco and Marin County. He has one child Gian-Paolo "Augustus" Alioto Veronese (born 2009). Professional history. Civil Rights Attorney. Veronese is a practicing civil rights attorney admitted in all courts in the State of California, United States District Court for the Northern and Eastern Districts of California, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. He has successfully litigated numerous cases representing victims of discrimination as a partner in the  Law Firm of Mayor Joseph Alioto and Angela Alioto. This includes trial verdicts ranging from $1.3M to $132M in the federal and state courts of California and Texas. In addition, Alioto Veronese has advised clients across a variety of sectors, including major colleges and universities, energy and utility companies, corporate restaurants, commercial real estate, technology and green technology companies in his personal corporate practice, the Alioto Law Group. He advises clients on disputes involving contracts, employment discrimination and retaliation, privacy, class actions, securities, and government relations. California Commission on Criminal Justice. As an appointee of California  Senator John Burton, Alioto Veronese served California Governor Schwarzenegger and Governor Edmund Gerald “Jerry” Brown Jr. as California Criminal Justice Commissioner for seven years. In this capacity, Veronese focused on reforming marijuana enforcement practices so the state can use tens of millions of federal dollars to reduce guns, gangs, and violent crimes throughout the state. As California Criminal Justice Commissioner, Alioto Veronese championed efforts to increase accountability in government spending on Criminal Justice programs and redirected California's Criminal Justice policy toward a focus on rehabilitation programs. Police Commissioner. Veronese was appointed to the San Francisco Police Commission by Mayor  Gavin Newsom in 2004. He worked to reform the department through increased transparency and accountability to the public and the communities the department serves. Among other important reforms, Veronese brokered a resolution with the police officers association to release misconduct records to the public without violating the rights of police officers. This became known as the Veronese Report and it is issued quarterly. Under his watch, the police commission adopted the first-ever Early Warning System, a multimillion-dollar system of tracking and correcting police misconduct. During his tenure as Police Commissioner he oversaw the hiring of 350 new police  officers, an increase of nearly 13% of the force. Alioto Veronese advocated for an increase of foot patrol and a greater community representation within the department. In 2005, Veronese called for the city to investigate alleged misuse of public funds by Gary Delagnes, president of the police union, who was taking a yearly police salary of $100,000 while working full-time for the union; Delagnes demanded Mayor Newsom fire Veronese. In April 2007, Veronese cast the deciding vote to elect Theresa Sparks as President of San Francisco Police Commission. Sparks became the first transgender head of any city commission  in the nation. Fire Commissioner. Alioto Veronese also served a term as San Francisco Fire Commissioner (appointed by Mayor Edwin Lee, serving also under Mayor London Breed) where he led efforts to support firefighters with mental health injuries. District Attorney's Office. Veronese became involved in law enforcement when, upon graduation from UCLA and the San Francisco Police Academy, he was hired by District Attorney Terence Hallinan as the youngest senior criminal investigator in the history of the office. Veronese worked in the Special Investigations Unit and helped develop and enforce a diversion program to prevent the incarceration of poor  families. Veronese also led a unit of investigators in the street-level enforcement against food-stamp trafficking for guns and narcotics. Media. Alioto Veronese regularly appears as a political and legal contributor on multi-nationally syndicated shows from the FOX News Channel, as well as regular appearances on Bay Area local news channels. Civic engagement. Veronese was chosen by the Mayor of San Francisco to co-chair the San Francisco - Assisi Sister City Committee. The committee was created by his grandfather Mayor Joseph L. Alioto in 1968 to develop and maintain San Francisco's relationship with the sister city of  Assisi, Italy. In 2001, he was elected Municipal Utility District Director from a field of 23 candidates. This was his first campaign for elective office. In April 2006, Veronese was chosen by Mayor Newsom to represent San Francisco in Rome at the consistory that raised William Levada to the cardinalate; Veronese led a delegation of interfaith leaders of every large religious group in San Francisco to Rome and continues to work with religious groups to find common ground on difficult and controversial issues facing San Francisco. With the assistance of the CLEAR Project (a San Francisco neighborhood organization committed to  strengthening the capacity of young people, parents, seniors and neighborhoods), Veronese helped develop the "SAFE Zone" program, promoting safe streets for children in the city's crime ridden neighborhoods. Veronese also served on the Board of Directors of the Omega Boys Club. Education. Alioto Veronese obtained his Juris Doctor from the University of San Francisco's School of Law while working as a Senior San Francisco Criminal District Attorney Investigator. Joe received his undergraduate degree from University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) while also attending the Fullerton Police Academy, where he obtained his California Peace Officers Standards and Training  (P.O.S.T) certification. Joe also attended and graduated from the San Francisco Police Academy where he served as president of the 187th recruit class.