Judge Caruso was first appointed to the Commission in 1998 and served until 2002. He was then reappointed to the Commission in April of 2004. He received his B.A. in Economics from Waynesburg College in 1970 and his law degree from Duquesne University School of Law in 1973. Prior to his judicial position, Judge Caruso was engaged in the general practice of law from 1973 to 1985 and served as an Assistant Public Defender from 1979 to 1981. In 1985 he was elected to Westmoreland County's Court of Common Pleas. Judge Caruso is a past president of the Pennsylvania Conference of State Trial Judges, after serving the Conference in various officers' positions for six years. He was also a member of the Ethics Committee of the Conference of State Trial Judges for ten years and is currently a member of the Education Committee of the Conference. Judge Caruso is president and a member of the Board of Directors of Southwestern Pennsylvania Health Services, Inc.; a member of the Board of Directors of Behavioral Health Care, Inc., and a member of the St. Vincent Prevention Project Advisory Board.