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New Bergen Prosecutor Pledges To Build On Office's Success

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- An SRO crowd attended the swearing-in Monday of acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal of Glen Rock in Hackensack.

New acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal hugs his wife after swearing in, as County Executive Jim Tedesco, Sheriff Michael Saudino and Assistant Prosecutor John Higgins applaud.

New acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal hugs his wife after swearing in, as County Executive Jim Tedesco, Sheriff Michael Saudino and Assistant Prosecutor John Higgins applaud.

Photo Credit: Mary K. Miraglia
Superior Court Assignment Judge Bonnie Mizdol swears in new acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal

Superior Court Assignment Judge Bonnie Mizdol swears in new acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal

Photo Credit: Mary K. Miraglia
Assistant Bergen County prosecutors, detectives also newly sworn.

Assistant Bergen County prosecutors, detectives also newly sworn.

Photo Credit: Mary K. Miraglia

With his wife by his side, Grewal, 42, told his new staff how honored he is to represent an office that "in many ways sets the standard of other prosecutors throughout the state.”

“I talk to prosecutors all over New Jersey, and in a very real way, they look to Bergen to see how things are done," the state's first South Asian to hold the office in the state said.

Referring to his predecessor, Grewal added: "I’d be remiss if I didn’t look to the stewardship of John Molinelli,” who held the office nearly 14 years.

“Bergen County has a tremendous reputation because of the hard work that each of you do, each and every day," he told the various assistant prosecutors and detectives who were also newly sworn. "I hope to work with you to build on that reputation, and enhance it.”

Grewal, an assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted major white-collar crimes out of Newark, will serve as the acting county prosecutor until the state Legislature in Trenton confirms his appointment by Gov. Christie.

“When my wife and I decided to raise a family, there was nowhere else we considered,” said Grewal, a father of three who grew up in Bergen County.

Glen Rock Mayor John Van Keuren was among the attendees, as was state Sen. Bob Gordon of Fair Lawn, Presiding Superior Court Judge Susan J. Steele, County Executive Jim Tedesco, county Bar Association Executive Director Frank O’Marra Jr., and several other members of the bar.

Grewal said he will immediately begin meeting with each assistant prosecutor individually and “learn from you what works.”

“I don’t know 2C like you do -- although I tried to read it last night," he said, jokingly, of the state criminal code.

“I hope to prove to you over the next several years -- I’m a quick learner, I’m a hard worker, and I’ll always be straight with each of you," said Grewal, a Sikh who speaks Punjabi and Hindi. "If we do that, we can achieve tremendous successes together.”

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