May 16, 2003
TRENTON
— Charles E. Waldron was sworn in today as acting prosecutor for Mercer
County, bringing more than three decades of experience in all facets of the
criminal justice system to his new role.
Acting
Attorney General Peter C. Harvey appointed Waldron as acting prosecutor due to
the resignation of Prosecutor Daniel G. Giaquinto.
Waldron has served as first assistant prosecutor since 1998.
As first
assistant, Waldron supervised the day-to-day operations of the Mercer County
Prosecutor's Office, including managing a 150-member staff, overseeing asset
forfeitures and personally supervising the Special Investigations Unit.
“Chuck
is a talented career prosecutor who has been my first assistant and good friend
for the past five and a half years. He
is one of the primary reasons we have had such a good run,” Giaquinto said.
“The office is in excellent hands.”
Waldron
said he is honored to be chosen for the position and thanked Acting Attorney
General Harvey for the opportuniy.
“I
look forward to continuing the long-standing traditions of professionalism,
excellence and dedication that are the cornerstone of the Mercer County
Prosecutor's Office,” he stated.
Waldron
began his career in criminal justice as an investigator with the New Jersey
Office of the Public Defender, Mercer Region, in 1970.
He joined the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation as an
investigator in 1972, where he participated in numerous investigations into
organized crime activity, official corruption and workers’ compensation
abuses. In 1975, Waldron became
counsel to the state Commission of Investigation.
In
1976, Waldron joined the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office as an assistant
prosecutor. From 1977 to 1981, he
served as an assistant prosecutor in the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office,
where he was originally assigned to a trial team.
Waldron was subsequently named to head the Career Criminal Unit and later
appointed as the chief of the Special Investigations Unit, where he developed
and expertise with the investigation and prosecution of narcotics, fraud and
corruption cases.
From
1981 to 1992, Waldron served as a deputy attorney general with the New Jersey
Division of Criminal Justice. He
prosecuted priority cases for the division and was promoted to chief of Criminal
Litigation, where he supervised and personally prosecuted cases involving
official corruption of elected officials, homicides and narcotics cases
involving drug kingpins.
During
his distinguished career, Waldron served as the acting prosecutor in Mercer,
Hunterdon, Cumberland, Salem and Morris counties.
In 1992, he was appointed as the first assistant prosecutor for Morris
County, where he served until 1995.
A
trustee of the Mercer County Bar Association and a master with the Mercer County
Chapter of the American Inns of Court, Waldron received a bachelor of arts
degree from Villanova University and his law degree from the Fordham University
School of Law.
He resides in West Trenton with his wife, Kathy.