John M. Ryan

John Michael Ryan (born 1949) is an American lawyer from New York who served as the acting district attorney of Queens County in 2019. Born in Brooklyn and raised on Long Island, he attended St. John's University and its law school. Joining the Queens District Attorney's office as an intern in 1972, he worked there before joining the state attorney general's office, where he led the investigation of the Tawana Brawley rape allegations. Shortly after the appointment of Richard Brown in 1991, he returned to Queens, serving in the district attorney's office for the next 28 years.

In May 2019, Brown, who had earlier announced his planned resignation for health reasons, died, and Ryan, then chief assistant district attorney, was sworn in in an acting capacity. He remained in that position until the beginning of the following year, when Melinda Katz assumed office, after which he retired.

Early life and family Childhood and education Ryan was born in 1949 in Brooklyn to Florence (née Rafferty; 1908–1988) and John Patrick Ryan (1902–1958). He grew up on Long Island and attended Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens. He then entered St. John's University, from which he graduated with a degree in political science in 1970. He graduated from St. John's University School of Law in 1974.

Personal life Ryan married his wife, Barbara, in 1970. They have three children: two daughters and a son. He is an avid New York Mets fan. In 1979, shortly after being promoted to deputy chief of the Homicide Investigations Bureau, he resigned to serve as an assistant state attorney general under Robert Abrams.

After Richard Brown was appointed to head the Queens District Attorney's Office in 1991, following John J. Santucci's resignation, Ryan returned to work there. Ryan was appointed chief assistant district attorney in 1997, second-in-command to Brown, a position he would stay in for 22 years. A political independent, Ryan defended his office amid criticism raised during that year's district attorney election campaign from criminal justice reform advocates. He clashed with the eventual election winner, borough president Melinda Katz, on her decision to eliminate cash bail, joining with Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon to criticize the move. He retired after Katz took office at the beginning of 2020.