Michael Tannousis is a lifelong Staten Islander, and the son of Greek immigrants that came to America to seek a better life after being displaced by armed conflict in Cyprus. He attended Monsignor Farrell High School. He earned an undergraduate degree from SUNY Binghamton and his Juris Doctor from Pace Law School.

Mike began his career in public service in 2006 when he was hired as an aide to then-Minority Leader James Oddo. While there, he learned the gold standard in constituent services and helped many residents that came seeking assistance whether it was filling a pothole, getting storm drains cleaned, or fixing an issue with a property tax bill. Mike saw firsthand what government could and should look like when it works for the people it is supposed to serve. During much of this time, Mike was going to law school in addition to working and after becoming a lawyer fulfilled a long-held dream of becoming a prosecutor.

Mike began his time as an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx DA’s office in 2011 where he honed his craft prosecuting misdemeanors and later major offenses. In 2016, Richmond County DA Michael McMahon hired him to work in his office.

In his tenure in the Staten Island office, Mike Tannousis successfully prosecuted serious felony cases involving violent crimes and drug sales. Two of his highest profile cases included the conviction after trial of Ricky Dennis of a double-murder in Dongan Hills and the successful re-trial of Michael Sykes for the infamous Ramada Inn murders.

It was the radical policies coming out of Albany that made Mike first think about running to succeed Nicole Malliotakis in the 64th Assembly District (East Shore/Bay Ridge). Making prosecutions harder to achieve, giving driver’s licenses to illegal aliens, and the general anti-business posture, make him realize he could take his mission of public service from the courtrooms in St. George to the Legislature in Albany.