Filing for the May primary began Tuesday and one of the first local candidates to declare his intention to seek re-election is Kosciusko County Coroner Anthony W. Ciriello. The filing deadline is noon Feb. 5. Ciriello was elected by a caucus of precinct committeemen in September to fulfill the remainder of the term of the former coroner, Mike Wilson. The term expires at the end of this year. In a press release from Ciriello, he states, “I have served the coroner’s office as a deputy coroner and now as the elected office holder for 23 years. I am a certified medicolegal death investigator with the State of Indiana and I currently serve as the director of training and education for the Indiana State Coroner’s Training Board, a position that I have held for 17 years.” He has spent 34 years in law enforcement prior to his retirement in September as a police officer, DARE officer, investigator and most recently police chief for the Town of Syracuse. “My extensive experience in law enforcement, death investigations and my continued commitment to the citizens of Kosciusko County to fully, professionally and compassionately investigate deaths investigated by the coroner are why I feel I am the best candidate for the position,” he states in the release. With the Indiana State Coroner’s Training Board, Ciriello is charged with training and certifying all coroners and deputy coroners in the state on the proper and most up-to-date techniques in death investigation to achieve their medicolegal death investigator certificate as required by Indiana statute. As for his community involvements, they include president of the Kosciusko Shrine Club, including circus chair; president-elect of the Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club; moderator of the Kosciusko Youth Leadership Academy and ambassador for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Kosciusko County. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Indiana State Coroners Association, Indiana State Coroners Training Board and am the coroner’s representative on the Governors Public Safety Team. “As an elected official I am dedicated to serving the citizens of our county not only in my capacity as coroner, but to make sound fiscal decisions for my office that are in the best interest of taxpayers,” he said.
