Gov. Chris Christie plans to appoint a prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney's office as Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Monday, outgoing prosecutor John L. Molinelli confirmed on Twitter.
HACKENSACK -- Gov. Chris Christie plans to appoint a prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney's office as Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Monday, outgoing prosecutor John L. Molinelli confirmed on Twitter.
"He is entering a great office and I sincerely wish him the very best," Molinelli said.
Gurbir Grewal, a Glen Rock resident and Democrat, had previously been picked to replace Molinelli in 2013, but the nomination never cleared the state Senate. Grewal has worked at the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey since 2010 and became chief of the Economic Crimes Unit in February 2014.
"With his experience as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey and New York, Mr. Grewal has the right credentials and background to be the chief law enforcement officer for Bergen County," Christie said in a statement when Grewal was first nominated. "He also brings diversity to a highly diverse county, which will serve him and the community well."
Grewal is Sikh, and would the the first county prosecutor in New Jersey to practice the religion.
Gov. James McGreevey appointed Molinelli to the post in 2002. His second term on the job expired in January 2013, but stayed on after Grewal's nomination failed to pass in the state Legislature.
Molinelli plans to return to private practice at the law firm of Price, Meese, Shulman and D'Arminio in Woodcliff Lake.
He is entering a great office and I sincerely wish him the very best. https://t.co/2gtE8u3qkb
-- John Molinelli (@johnlmolinelli) December 31, 2015
Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
