Roger Breslin
Roger W. Breslin Jr. (September 23, 1937 – January 16, 2025) was an American attorney who served as Prosecutor of Bergen County, New Jersey from 1977 to 1982.
Biography
[edit]Breslin was born in Orange, New Jersey. His father, Roger W. Breslin Sr., was a Judge in the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court and was a member of the Breslin family, a prominent Democratic family. He attended St. Peter's Preparatory School in Jersey City, New Jersey, graduating in 1955, before attending the University of Notre Dame becoming a member of the class of 1959. He was a lieutenant in the United States Navy Reserve from 1959 to 1961. In 1964, he graduated from Rutgers Law School.[1]
On February 2, 1977, Breslin was appointed a deputy attorney general and acting Bergen County Prosecutor by Governor Brendan Byrne replacing Joseph C. Woodcock who resigned to run for governor.[2] He was given 12 hours notice before taking over the job.[3] He was sworn into the job permanently the same year in September by Theodore Trautwein.[4] A resident of Oradell, New Jersey, he resigned the position in May 1982 to be effective in July, allowing Governor Thomas Kean to appoint a replacement (Larry McClure, who was married to Woodcock's niece, was appointed).[5] Among the cases prosecuted under his office were the conviction of serial killer Richard Cottingham and the 1978 acquittal of Mario Jascalevich in the Dr. X killings.[6] Following his stint as prosecutor, Breslin worked in private practice.
He died following a stroke on January 16, 2025, survived by his wife Anne, daughter, Karen Anne, and son, Roger W. Breslin III.[7]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Roger W. Breslin, Jr". The Herald-News. January 19, 2025.
- ↑ Flynn, Edward (February 3, 1977). "Breslin sworn". The Record.
- ↑ Hawthorne, Fran (February 1, 1977). "Bergen's new prosecutor wants the job for keeps". The Record.
- ↑ "New Prosecutor Sworn". The New York Times. September 16, 1977.
- ↑ Moss, Linda (May 15, 1982). "Breslin quits as Bergen prosecutor". The Herald-News.
- ↑ Moss, Linda. "Resigning prosecutor recalls noted trials", Herald News, May 18, 1982. Accessed August 11, 2025, via Newspapers.com. "But the 44-year-old Oradell Democrat stressed that he considers his accomplishments involved the less sexy administrative changes he made in the prosecutor's office and not just the splashy headline grabbers - the murder convictions of two reputed double-murderers."
- ↑ "Roger W. Breslin, Jr". The Star-Ledger. January 19, 2025.
- 1937 births
- 2025 deaths
- Lawyers from Bergen County, New Jersey
- Lawyers from Orange, New Jersey
- People from Oradell, New Jersey
- University of Notre Dame alumni
- Rutgers Law School alumni
- 20th-century American naval officers
- New Jersey Democrats
- St. Peter's Preparatory School alumni
- United States Navy reservists