United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey

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U.S. Attorney's Office for the
District of New Jersey
Department overview
FormedSeptember 24, 1789 (1789-09-24) by the Judiciary Act of 1789
JurisdictionDistrict of New Jersey
HeadquartersNewark, New Jersey, U.S.
Department executive
Parent DepartmentUnited States Department of Justice
Websitejustice.gov/usao-nj

The U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey is the chief federal law enforcement officer in New Jersey. On January 6, 2021, Rachael A. Honig was appointed acting U.S. Attorney pursuant to the Vacancies Reform Act.[1] The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has jurisdiction over all cases prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney.

Organization[]

The Office is organized into divisions handling civil, criminal, and appellate matters, in addition to the Special Prosecutions Division, which oversees political corruption investigations.[2] The District of New Jersey is also divided into three vicinages: Newark, Trenton and Camden, with the southern two offices supervised by a Deputy U.S. Attorney. The office employs approximately 170 Assistant U.S. Attorneys.[3] It is the fifth-largest U.S. Attorney's Office in the nation, behind those in the District of Columbia, Los Angeles, Manhattan, and Miami.[4]

High-profile cases[]

  • Hugh Addonizio - Conviction of former Newark mayor on conspiracy and extortion charges
  • BitClub Network (2019) - Indicted five individuals for operating and promoting the BitClub Network, an elaborate, worldwide Ponzi scheme that law enforcement estimates took in more than $1 billion from investors.
  • Wayne Bryant - Conviction of former chairman of New Jersey Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee for funneling money to the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in exchange for a no-show job at the University.
  • Joseph Centanni (2020) - Filed a civil rights lawsuit against a major landlord who repeatedly engaged in a pattern or practice of sexual harassment of numerous tenants and applicants.
  • Cognizant (2019) - Charged the former President and the former Chief Legal Officer of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. with violations of the FCPA in connection with a foreign bribery scheme.
  • Crazy Eddie - Conviction of Eddie Antar, founder and CEO of Crazy Eddie, a consumer electronics chain, for fraud
  • Walter Forbes - Conviction of former chairman of Cendant Corporation for fraud.[5]
  • EDGAR Hacking Attack (2019) - Indicted Artem Radchenko and Oleksandr Ieremenko for a large-scale, international conspiracy to hack into the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval (EDGAR) system and profit by trading on critical information they stole.
  • Fort Dix Six (2007) - Conviction of group of six radical Islamist men allegedly plotting attack on Fort Dix military base[6]
  • Fort Lee lane closure scandal (2014)
  • Cornelius Gallagher - Guilty plea of New Jersey Congressman for tax evasion[7]
  • Nelson G. Gross - Conviction of former Republican state chairman on perjury and obstruction of justice charges
  • Sharpe James (2008) - Conviction of former Newark mayor on corruption charges[8]
  • Robert C. Janiszewski (2002) - Guilty plea of Hudson County Executive for tax evasion and bribery[9]
  • John V. Kenny - Conviction of former Jersey City mayor and chairman of Hudson County Democratic Party on conspiracy, bribery, and extortion charges
  • Charles Kushner (2004) - Guilty plea of real estate developer—and largest campaign donor to former New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey—for filing false tax returns and for attempting to retaliate against a witness in a federal criminal case[10]
  • Hemant Lakhani (2005) - Conviction of black market arms dealer attempting to sell shoulder-fired missiles[11]
  • Gene Levoff (2019) - indicted former Corporate secretary and Director of corporate law at Apple Inc. for orchestrating a five-year insider trading scheme.
  • John A. Lynch, Jr. - Guilty plea of former president of New Jersey Senate for mail fraud and tax evasion[12]
  • Newark Violent Crime Initiative (VCI) (2018-2020) - awarded an Attorney General’s Award in October 2019 as the model for cooperative law enforcement among federal, state, county and city agencies. The VCI led to a 30 percent reduction in the number of shooting victims city-wide between 2017 and 2018 and another 39 percent decline in 2019. In 2020, a year in which violent crime spiked in various places across the country, Newark maintained the same low in the number of murders.
  • Novartis/Alcon (2020) - Two deferred prosecution agreements regarding significant violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act at Greek and Vietnamese subsidiaries of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis, resulting in penalties of $345 million, representing the second largest criminal and regulatory fine imposed against pharmaceutical companies under the FCPA.
  • Operation Bid Rig (2002–2009) - Multi-stage political corruption sweep, resulting in arrest of Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano, Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, New Jersey Assemblymen Daniel Van Pelt and L. Harvey Smith, and Jersey City Council President
  • Operation Brace Yourself (2019) - Investigation and prosecution of sweeping durable medical equipment kickback schemes that resulted in the largest healthcare fraud takedown yet pursued by the Department.
  • Purdue Pharma (2020) - prosecution of opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma L.P. for three felonies, including conspiracy to defraud the DEA and Anti-Kickback Statute violations—for its gross misconduct in misbranding and mismarketing OxyContin that amounted to over $8 billion in penalties.
  • Samsam Ransomware (2018) - Indicted two Iranians—Faramarz Shahi Savandi and Mohammad Mehdi Shah Mansouri—for conducting the largest ransomware attack in the U.S. that crippled institutions in New Jersey and elsewhere.
  • Sarah Brockington Bost (2002), Mayor of Irvington, New Jersey
  • Martin Taccetta & Michael Taccetta (1987) - Unsuccessful prosecution of high-ranking members of The Jersey Crew, a faction of the Lucchese crime family[13]
  • UMDNJ (2005) - Deferred prosecution agreement overseen by federal monitor Herbert Stern involving Medicaid double-billing and other cases of health care fraud at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.[14]
  • Thomas J. Whelan - Conviction of mayor of Jersey City on conspiracy, bribery and extortion charges
  • Woodcliff Lake (2018) - Filed a civil rights lawsuit against the Borough of Woodcliff Lake for violations of RLUIPA resulting from the Borough’s efforts to prevent an Orthodox Jewish congregation from building a new place of worship.

Prominent officeholders[]

Chris Christie
Chris Christie, former U.S. Attorney and former Governor of New Jersey.

Prominent assistant US attorneys

Office holders[]

U.S. Attorney Term Started Term Ended Presidents served under
Richard Stockton Richard Stockton, Class of 1779 (1764-1828).jpg 1789 1791 George Washington
Abraham Ogden Abraham Ogden.jpg 1791 1798 George Washington and John Adams
Lucius Horatio Stockton 1798 1801 John Adams
Frederick Frelinghuysen Frederick Frelinghuysen. 1801 1801 John Adams
George C. Maxwell 1801 1803 Thomas Jefferson
William S. Pennington William Sanford Pennington.jpg 1803 1804 Thomas Jefferson
Joseph McIlvaine Josephmcilvaine.jpg 1804 1824 Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe
Lucius Q.C. Elmer L. Q. C. Elmer (New Jersey Congressman).jpg 1824 1829 James Monroe, John Quincy Adams
Garret D. Wall GDWall.jpg 1829 1835 Andrew Jackson
James S. Green 1835 1850 Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison , John Tyler, James K. Polk, and Zachary Taylor
William Halstead Col. William Halsted.jpg 1850 1853 Millard Fillmore
Garret S. Cannon 1853 1861 Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan
Anthony Q. Keasbey Anthony Quinton Keasbey.jpg 1861 1886 Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, and Grover Cleveland
Job H. Lippincott Job H. Lippincott circa 1890.jpg 1886 1887 Grover Cleveland
Samuel F. Bigelow Samuel F. Bigelow.jpg 1887 1888 Grover Cleveland
George S. Duryee 1888 1890 Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison
Henry S. White Henry S. White.jpg 1890 1894 Benjamin Harrisonand Grover Cleveland
John Woodhull Beekman.jpg 1894 1896 Grover Cleveland
1896 1900 Grover Cleveland and William McKinley
David Ogden Watkins David Ogden Watkins.jpg 1900 1903 William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt
1903 1903 Theodore Roosevelt
John Beam Vreeland John B. Vreeland.jpg 1903 1913 Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft
J. Warren Davis John Warren Davis.jpg 1913 1916 Woodrow Wilson
Charles Francis Lynch Judge Charles Francis Lynch.jpg 1916 1919 Woodrow Wilson
Joseph L. Bodine Judge Joseph L. Bodine.jpg 1919 1920 Woodrow Wilson
Elmer H. Geran Elmer H. Geran (New Jersey Congressman).jpg 1920 1922 Woodrow Wilson and Warren Harding
Walter G. Winne 1922 1928 Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge
Phillip Forman Judge Phillip Forman.jpg 1928 1932 Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover
1932 1935 Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt
1935 1940 Franklin D. Roosevelt
William Francis Smith Judge William F. Smith.jpg 1940 1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt
1941 1943 Franklin D. Roosevelt
Thorn Lord 1943 1945 Franklin D. Roosevelt
Edgar H. Rossbach 1945 1948 Harry Truman
1948 1948 Harry Truman
Alfred E. Modarelli Judge Alfred E. Modarelli.jpg 1948 1951 Harry Truman
Grover C. Richman, Jr. 1951 1953 Harry Truman
William F. Tompkins 1953 1954 Dwight D. Eisenhower
Raymond Del Tufo, Jr. 1954 1956 Dwight D. Eisenhower
1956 1956 Dwight D. Eisenhower
Chester A. Weidenburner 1956 1961 Dwight D. Eisenhower
David M. Satz, Jr. 1961 1969 John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
Donald Horowitz 1969 1969 Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon
Frederick B. Lacey Judge Frederick Bernard Lacey.jpg 1969 1971 Richard Nixon
Herbert J. Stern Judge Herbert J. Stern.jpg 1971 1974 Richard Nixon
Jonathan L. Goldstein 1974 1977 Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford
Robert J. Del Tufo 1977 1980 Jimmy Carter
William W. Robertson 1980 1981 Jimmy Carter
W. Hunt Dumont 1981 1985 Ronald Reagan
Thomas W. Greelish 1985 1987 Ronald Reagan
Samuel Alito Sam Alito. 1987 1990 Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush
Michael Chertoff Michael Chertoff. 1990 1994 George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton
Faith S. Hochberg 1994 1999 Bill Clinton
Robert J. Cleary 1999 2002 Bill Clinton and George W. Bush
Christopher J. Christie Chris Christie 2002 2008 George W. Bush
Ralph J. Marra, Jr. 2008 2009 George W. Bush and Barack Obama
Paul J. Fishman Paul Fishman US Attorney.JPG 2009 2017 Barack Obama and Donald Trump
2017 2018 Donald Trump
Craig Carpenito Craig Carpenito.jpg 2018 2021 Donald Trump
Rachael A. Honig 2021 Present Donald Trump and

Joe Biden

References[]

  1. ^ United States Attorney Craig Carpenito Announces his Resignation, Effective January 5, 2021
  2. ^ Office Organization, U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Jersey Archived 2009-02-03 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Serving the District of New Jersey, U.S. Attorney's Office
  4. ^ New Jersey Law Journal's Lawyer of the Year: Chris Christie, , December 27, 2006.
  5. ^ New Jersey Law Journal's Lawyer of the Year: Chris Christie, , December 27, 2006.
  6. ^ 5 Are Convicted of Conspiring to Attack Fort Dix, The New York Times, December 22, 2008.
  7. ^ Paul Hoffman, Tiger in the Court, Playboy Press, 1979, p. 276.
  8. ^ Former Mayor Guilty of Fraud in Newark Sales, The New York Times, April 17, 2008.
  9. ^ Former Hudson County Leader Gets 41 Months in Corruption Case, The New York Times, March 25, 2005.
  10. ^ Major Donor Admits Hiring Prostitute to Smear Witness, The New York Times, August 19, 2004.
  11. ^ Man Accused of a Scheme to Sell Missiles Praised bin Laden on Tapes, The New York Times, January 9, 2005.
  12. ^ Ex-Leader of New Jersey Senate is Guilty of Corruption, The New York Times, September 16, 2006.
  13. ^ Robert Rudolph, The Boys from New Jersey: How the Mob Beat the Feds
  14. ^ New Jersey Law Journal's Lawyer of the Year: Chris Christie, , December 27, 2006.

External links[]

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