Two weeks after Berkshire County District Attorney David Capeless announced he would be retiring, his replacement was sworn in.

Paul Caccaviello has a long history in Berkshire County. After almost 30 years with the department, he can now call himself district attorney. Caccaviello replaces his now-former boss David Capeless, who successfully nominated him for Massachusetts Prosecutor of the Year in 2008. 

But Caccaviello is becoming DA when the county is seeing an uptick of crime. According to the FBI, North Adams has the highest crime rate in the state. 

District attorney is an elected position, but Caccaviello was nominated as Capeless stepped down. Capeless said he wanted to give Caccaviello the opportunity to run as an incumbent. He’ll face his first election this November.