---
born: 1938
category: PROMIS Scandal
created: 2024-04-25
died: 2021-02-18
location: Quincy, Massachusetts
summary: John L. Gizzarelli, Jr., was a Navy cryptologic officer who worked on the
  1969 PROMIS design team under Charles R. Work, Joan E. Jacoby, and Bill Hamilton,
  subsequently attended Georgetown Law School, served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney
  for DC, and served as general counsel at INSLAW in 1973.
tags:
- Person
- PROMIS
- INSLAW
- Navy
updated: 2026-05-01
---

John Laurence Gizzarelli, Jr., was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1938. He graduated from Quincy High School in 1956 and from Boston University in 1961, and joined the Navy in November 1961. In 1962 he was a Lieutenant assigned to Cryptologic Warfare (MOS 1615 -- Information Warfare), stationed in Spain, Morocco, and Japan, and later was assigned to Naval Research. He remained in the Naval Reserve through at least 1977.[^1][^2]

Gizzarelli worked on the 1969 team assembled by U.S. Attorney [Thomas A. Flannery](/people/thomas-a-flannery/) to design the [Prosecutor's Management Information System](/programs/promis/), under co-directors [Joan E. Jacoby](/people/joan-e-jacoby/) and [Charles R. Work](/people/charles-r-work/) with project manager [Bill Hamilton](/people/bill-hamilton/) at [Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co](/organizations/peat-marwick-mitchell-co/).

After the PROMIS project, Gizzarelli attended Georgetown University Law School, graduating in 1973. He subsequently worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. In 1973 he also served as general counsel at [INSLAW](/organizations/inslaw/).[^3]

John L. Gizzarelli, Jr., died February 18, 2021, at age 88, at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Milton.[^4]

[^1]: *Letter from the Secretary of the Navy.* U.S. Government, Congressional Record. (Google Books edition.)
[^2]: *Register of Commissioned and Warrant Officers.* U.S. Navy, 1970. (Google Books edition.)
[^3]: *Computerworld*, 1973. (Google Books ID: sWeKU3wFLREC, p. 18.)
[^4]: "John Gizzarelli Obituary." *South of Boston Ledger*, Legacy.com, February 2021.