Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll named New Jersey’s 2026 Public Official of the Year
MORRISTOWN, N.J. (Morris County) — Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll has been named the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police’s 2026 Public Official of the Year, an honor recognizing his more than five decades of service in law enforcement.
The award recognizes Carroll’s leadership in organized crime investigations and prosecution, as well as his continued commitment to public safety since becoming Morris County prosecutor in 2020.
“Prosecutor Carroll has consistently demonstrated the kind of leadership and dedication to public service that this award recognizes,” said former NJSACOP President Andrew Caggiano, the Montville police chief, whose term concluded June 24. “His commitment to Morris County reflects the highest standards we hold our public officials to, and NJSACOP is proud to honor him as Public Official of the Year.”
According to the association, Carroll built his reputation by leading investigations into some of New Jersey’s most significant organized crime cases. His career included the prosecution of Richard Kuklinski, known as the “Iceman,” and a hierarchy-level Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, murder conviction involving the New Jersey Lucchese Crime Family.
As chief of the state’s Organized Crime and Racketeering Task Force, Carroll led investigations into all five La Cosa Nostra crime families operating in New Jersey, working with prosecutors and detectives to secure hundreds of convictions against organized crime figures and their associates.
Carroll began his career in the early 1970s as an Essex County investigator and assistant prosecutor. In 1980, he joined the Division of Criminal Justice’s Special Prosecutions section, where he specialized in electronic surveillance and undercover organized crime investigations. By 1986, he had been appointed chief of the Organized Crime and Racketeering Task Force and later rose to the rank of assistant attorney general.
Throughout his career, Carroll has also trained law enforcement officers at the New Jersey State Police Academy, Essex County Police Academy and Native American law enforcement programs. His service has earned commendations from the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Attorney’s Office, New Jersey State Police and numerous county prosecutors’ offices.
His public service has also included serving as acting Sussex County prosecutor, director of the Law Department for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and compliance officer overseeing thousands of background investigations for Native American gaming facilities, where he also chaired a Gaming Regulatory Commission.
Since taking office as Morris County prosecutor in 2020, Carroll has continued to lead the county prosecutor’s office, which the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police cited for its leadership, integrity and commitment to public safety.
