NATIONAL CRIME VICTIMS RIGHTS WEEK EVENTS: The Essex County Prosecutor's Office of Victim-Witness Advocacy, in recognition of 2012 National Crime Victims' Rights Week and 2012 National Police Week, will present an Open House reception on Monday, April 23, 2012 at 11:00am at the Leroy Smith Building, 50 West Market Street, 14th Floor Newark, New Jersey 07102 (Across From Essex County College Gymnasium).

The ECPO Victim Witness Office will also present a public forum entitled "What To Expect After the Police Leave - A Guide To The Days After A Traumatic Event", on two different days, Thursday, May 3, 2012 from 9:00am to 2:00pm, and on Thursday, May 10, 2012 from 9:00am to 2:00pm. This event will again be presented at the Leroy Smith Building, 14th Floor.

For more information, please call 973-621-4687 or 973-621-4707. Please view the attached flyer regarding these events.

2010 ANNUAL REPORT AVAILABLE: The 2010 ECPO Annual Report can now be downloaded and viewed in PDF format, from this page.

CAROLYN MURRAY APPOINTED ACTING ESSEX COUNTY PROSECUTOR: Carolyn A. Murray, formerly counsel to the N.J. Attorney General Paula T. Dow, was named by Dow as Acting Essex County Prosecutor effective Feb. 22, 2011. She replaces Acting Prosecutor Robert Laurino, who held the position since January, 2010. In 2003, Murray served the Essex Prosecutor's Office as counsel to then-Acting Essex Prosecutor Dow and, in 2004, she was named First Assistant Prosecutor. When Dow was appointed by Governor Christie in early 2010 to serve as Acting Attorney General, Murray assumed the Counsel position in her Office in Trenton. Murray has more than 20 years of county, state, and federal prosecutorial experience.

"Carolyn has served with me with great dedication and distinction for more than eight years, originally, as first assistant prosecutor for the Essex County prosecutor's office and most recently, as counsel to the attorney general," Dow said. "When Governor Christie appointed me as his attorney general, Carolyn graciously agreed to help me get settled in Trenton. Now, it's my pleasure to return her to the office that she loves. I have the utmost confidence in her exceptional ability to lead the Essex County prosecutor's office."

Dow commended Laurino for his time and dedication as Acting Prosecutor. "I know the citizens of Essex County were well served during Bob's tenure as acting prosecutor, and I thank him for his outstanding effort," Dow said. Robert Laurino will continue to serve the Essex County Prosecutor's Office as First Assistant Prosecutor.

"I am deeply humbled and honored that Attorney General Dow has appointed me to lead the Essex County Prosecutor's Office as Acting Prosecutor," Murray said. "As I return to this outstanding office that has made such great strides during the last several years, I vow to carry out our mission of fighting crime and protecting the citizens of Essex County and the state of New Jersey."

A cum laude graduate of Georgetown University, Murray received her law degree from New York University School of Law. In 1987, Murray joined the law firm of Tompkins, McGuire & Wachenfeld in Newark. The following year, she joined the Essex Prosecutor's Office as an Assistant Prosecutor. She joined the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark in 1995 and was later promoted to Chief of the Public Prosecution Unit, before returning to ECPO in 2003 (and now again, in 2011).

STAFF NEWS: On Monday, September 26, 2011, the following attornies were sworn to the position of Assistant Prosecutor/S.D.A.G. by the Hon. Michael L. Ravin, NJ Superior Court: Jason Alterbaum, Olajide Araromi, Sarah Chambers, Carlo Fioranelli, and Adam Salzer. On September 30, Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Giordano was sworn by the Hon. Ronald Wigler, NJ Superior Ct., followed by Assistant Prosecutor Peter Polidoro, who was sworn to office on November 14, 2011 by the Hon. Michael Petrolle, NJ Superior Ct.

ECPO CLERGY / CITIZEN'S ACADEMY: Acting County Prosecutor Robert Laurino initiated a Clergy/Citizen Prosecutor’s Academy for the members of the clergy and citizens of Essex County, as of February 23, 2011. The class instructors consist of members of the Prosecutor’s investigative and legal staff. They provide information about the mission and responsibilities of the Prosecutor’s Office along with demonstrations. A 2012 session is expected.

The training is held at the Essex County Leroy Smith Complex, 50 West Market Street, Newark 14th floor Conference Room. Upon completion of the attendees receive a certificate, along with a prize. Please contact Captain Spruill at 973-621-6163 for further information regarding future efforts.

Employees Honored: In February, 2012, Clerk Typist Marilyn Crespo received the Essex County Teamwork Award from Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. Other ECPO employees who received this Award: in 2011, Legal Assistant Robert Monaco; Victim Witness Advocate Jason Delpeche; Photo Media Processor Lloyd Holmes; Prosecutor's Agent James Hunter; in 2010, Media Technology Specialist Brian Innis Assistant Prosecutor Kenneth Ply and Senior Program Analyst James Gerofsky; in 2009, Joanne Barone, Principal Account Clerk; Glenda Renee Haislah, Principal Legal Sten ographer; Guy Trogani, Investigator; Gwen Williams, Assistant Prosecutor / Director; and Juliet Wood-Warren, Senior Clerk Typist. In 2008, the recepients included: Holt Walker, Detective, in December; La Quanda Williams, Victim Witness Advocate, in October; Budget Analyst Raj Krishnan, in August; and Supervisory Legal Stenographer Marjorie Sherman in May. Senior Clerk Vanessa Harper-Woods received this award in September, 2007; Joan Washington of the Grand Jury Unit in August, 2007; Doris Stoeckel of the Arson Unit, in May 2007; Detective Arnold Anderson, in November, 2006; Secretarial Assistant Rosemary Facchino, in August, 2006; Principal Clerk Halimah Harris, in June, 2006; Automation Specialist Lorraine DeGardnuer, in May, 2006; Victim-Witness Counselor Lisa Fonseca, in April, 2006; and Automation Specialist Cindy Hamilton, in February, 2006.

ILEI SYSTEM IN SERVICE: The Essex County Prosecutor's Office is a key participant and beneficiary of the County of Essex Integrated Law Enforcement Initiative. This is a data-sharing project which was planned and implemented by the County of Essex, the Essex Department of Corrections, the Essex County Sheriff's Office, the Newark Police Department, and ECPO. Police arrest and incident reports are exchanged digitally and instantaneously through this database network, and a variety of other data coordination and exchange uses are being implemented between the various members of ILEI. Using funding provided in 2008 by the State of New Jersey P.A.R.I.S. Shared Services Program, this system was instituted and went live by early 2009. A second round of funding from N.J. P.A.R.I.S. will allow the expansion of this system to the 21 other municipal police departments in Essex County. This system will reduce paperwork costs and increase the overall effectiveness of the criminal justice system in Essex County. It also provides a platform for greater criminal data exchanges on both the state and federal level; in the coming years, it will provide a wide range of benefits to ECPO's pre-Grand Jury units, and also to its investigatory squads.

V.I.N.E. Victim Notification Telephone Service Started: The State of New Jersey provides a toll-free telephone number through which victims can gain information about the current status and location of their offenders: 1-877-VINE-4-NJ. Registration is necessary. Please consult the V.I.N.E. Web Site for more information.

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