Essex County Prosecutor's Office history

20, 1829, Amzi Dodd became the first governor-appointed Prosecutor of Pleas for Essex County.

Formerly a Princeton City Council representative, Green had moved to Elizabeth in 1856 and became instrumental in promoting the legislation that formed Union County a year later.

On April 13, 1857, less than a month after Union County was created from what had been part of Essex County, John J. Chetwood was named the first Union County Prosecutor.

Robert Stockton Green was appointed to serve as the second Union County Prosecutor on December 12, 1861.

Edward Young Rogers was named the third Union County Prosecutor on February 6, 1862, and the longtime Rahway resident and attorney quickly developed a reputation for impassioned advocacy for upholding the law.

William Jay Magie was appointed to serve as the fourth Union County Prosecutor on April 3, 1866.

Julius Augustus Fay, Jr. was commissioned to be the fifth Union County Prosecutor on April 4, 1871.

The first Prosecutor of Pleas worked alone, but by 1877 the Prosecutor required the help of a First Assistant.

William R. Wilson was appointed to serve as the sixth Union County Prosecutor in 1881.

Swift served a single term in the Office where his career in public service began, having started as an Assistant Prosecutor under William Wilson in 1882.

Fay served as Prosecutor with distinction for two terms and died in September 1891.

In 1896 he became the third consecutive Union County Prosecutor to be reappointed for a second term.

Nicholas C. J. English was appointed to serve as the eighth Union County Prosecutor in 1898, after previously serving as counsel for the City of Elizabeth and the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company.

In 1900 he also was elected as the first president of the then-newly formed Gateway Family YMCA chapter (today the YMCA of Eastern Union County).

Charles Addison Swift became the ninth Union County Prosecutor in 1908, having previously served as counsel for the City of Elizabeth, a member of the Elizabeth Board of Education, and a judge in Elizabeth District Court.

In 1909, the prosecution of cases in Somerset County began in the present day Historic Courthouse, which had just been built at a cost of approximately $250,000.

In 1917, while still in his first and only term, Stein convened about 20 local businessmen and professionals to a meeting at which the Rotary Club of Elizabeth was established.

By 1922, Prosecutor John O. Bigelow employed 28 men, including three Assistant Prosecutors, two Detective Captains, two Lieutenants, and various Detectives and clerks.

He served two five-year terms as Prosecutor and died in 1939 following 64 years of membership with the Union County Bar Association.

Although the prime suspect was found hanged soon after the incident, the Office continued it s investigation and identified Schultz’s real shooter who pled guilty to the murder in 1940.

John E. Barger was appointed acting Union County Prosecutor in November 1942, shortly after the death of former Prosecutor Abe J. David.

Donald H. McLean was appointed as the 13th confirmed Union County Prosecutor in April 1944 and served dual roles until the end of that year, when he finished his sixth term as a member of the New Jersey delegation in the United States House of Representatives.

By 1945, the Office still had only three Assistant Prosecutors, despite a growing number of murder and gambling cases.

McLean served as Prosecutor until 1946, when Governor Walter E. Edge appointed him to the New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals.

In 1951, Prosecutor Edward Gaulkin gained attention by successfully prosecuting four men charged with conspiracy, extortion and bribery in the Newark milk scandal case.

H. Douglas Stine became the 16th Union County Prosecutor in 1958, having previously earned a Bronze Star for his military service with the United States Army in the Pacific Theatre of World War II.

Stine’s tenure as Prosecutor was marked by the investigation and prosecution of cases regarding narcotics trafficking and welfare, insurance, and election/campaign fraud, but he was arguably best known for his prosecution of the Parks-Maxey double-murder case in 1961.

By 1962, there were 16 Assistant Prosecutors, most of whom were part-time employees.

Leo Kaplowitz became the 17th Union County Prosecutor in November 1964, having previously served as an Assistant Prosecutor under H. Douglas Stine and as counsel for Union County.

For instance, The Criminal Justice Act of 1970, N.J.S.A. 52:17B-97 et seq., further broadened the extensive powers of the County Prosecutor and reinforced his role as the dominant law enforcement officer within the county.

Edward McGrath was nominated to become the 19th Union County Prosecutor in April 1975.

McGrath was appointed back to the Superior Court bench in October 1976, after which First Assistant Prosecutor Michael Evans served as Acting Prosecutor for a brief time before John H. Stamler took office the next year.

1981). Although it is the duty of the Prosecutor to pursue justice and not merely to convict, the Prosecutor must use all reasonable and lawful diligence to bring about a just conviction of offenders against the law.

A career prosecutor, having joined the Union County Prosecutor’s Office in 1984, Mr.

In 1985, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, along with the Sheriff and the Chiefs of Police, created the first county-wide S.W.A.T. Team.

He was named Citizen of the Year by the Memorial General Development Foundation in 1986.

In 1987, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, in conjunction with the Sheriff and Chiefs of Police, established the Somerset County Police Academy.

Stamler died of cancer at his Scotch Plains home in March 1990 at the age of 51, two days after ground broke on a $5.1 million project to establish a permanent home for the Union County Police Academy, a cause he had championed for years.

The Academy was renamed in Stamler’s honor when the facility held its grand opening in 1991.

Ruotolo died in office in September 1995 at the age of 42.

In 1996, the State Legislature placed municipal prosecutors under the supervision of the County Prosecutor.

Thomas Manahan was sworn into office as the 22nd Union County Prosecutor on July 2, 1997, returning to the place where he started his career as an Assistant Prosecutor serving as deputy supervisor of the Major Crimes Unit and supervisor of the Special Enforcement Unit.

In 1998, the first female Prosecutor, Patricia Hurt, was appointed by Governor Christie Whitman.

In 1999, after obtaining a grant from the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office and Chiefs of Police established a Vehicular Homicide Task Force and Collision Analysis Reconstruction (C.A.R.) Team, which the County Prosecutor supervises.

Clark, 162 N.J. 201 (2000), re-affirmed the County Prosecutor’s supervision of municipal prosecutors when it prohibited them from serving as defense counsel in any court in the same county.

By 2003, it completed a second generation of computerization complete with e-mail and Internet access and increased its outreach to the public through its web site (www.njecpo.org), its Victim-Witness Advocacy Office, and its Community Justice Program.

In 2005, Governor Richard Codey swore Acting Prosecutor Dow to the Office of Essex County Prosecutor.

He returned to the Prosecutor’s Office in 2006 where he worked in Special Investigations, Trial Teams, and then culminated his career in the Juvenile Unit.

Prosecutor Dow also emphasized technology development, with the Office updating its computer server infrastructure in 2009 and planning for the implementation of an Office-wide, fully integrated electronic case and record management system.

Lawrence R. West November 18, 2010 Lawrence R. “Larry” West had a 28-year affiliation with the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, eventually becoming the First Assistant Prosecutor.

Prior to being appointed as Prosecutor, he was elected as the Essex County Surrogate in 2011.

Grace H. Park was sworn in as Acting Prosecutor of Union County on June 17, 2013.

During Acting Prosecutor Murray’s term, the Office prepared for the challenge of implementing the legislative bail reform mandate which went into effect on January 1, 2017.

In September of 2018, Governor Phil Murphy named Theodore N. Stephens II, then serving as the Essex County Surrogate, as Acting Essex County Prosecutor.

Lyndsay V. Ruotolo was sworn in as acting Union County Prosecutor on July 18, 2019.