John M. Ryan

Jack Ryan
Queens County District Attorney
Acting
May 4, 2019 – December 31, 2019
Preceded byRichard Brown
Succeeded byMelinda Katz
Personal details
Born
John Michael Ryan

1949 (age 74–75)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Political partyIndependent
Spouse
Barbara
(m. 1970)
EducationSt. John's University (BA, JD)
OccupationLawyer
SignatureCursive signature of 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.