Organization

Our Prosecutors

Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Biographies

Supervising Assistant Prosecutor John McNamara, Jr., Esq.
Special Enforcement Unit Supervisor

Assistant Prosecutor John McNamara, Jr., graduated from the University of Scranton in 1986 with a Bachelors of Arts degree, and a Masters of Arts degree, in History. He graduated from the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law in 1989.

Upon graduation from law school, he served as judicial clerk to the Hon. Donald G. Collester, Jr., J.A.D., who recently retired from the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey.

In 1990, he was hired by Robert M. Morgenthau as an Assistant District Attorney for New York County. From 1990 to 1991, he was assigned to the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for New York City, where he prosecuted drug distribution cases. Subsequently, he was assigned to the Trial Division of the District Attorney for New York County. In 1992, he was appointed to the Homicide Bureau. He prosecuted homicide cases until he left to join the Morris County Prosecutor's Office in 1996 under Prosecutor John B. Dangler.

From 2001 to 2008, he served as a Chief of the Major Crimes Unit as the supervising attorney. In 2008, he was designated Senior Trial Counsel, and was assigned to act as a supervising assistant prosecutor of the General Investigations Unit by Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi. In 2010, he was assigned to supervise the Major Crimes Unit by Prosecutor Bianchi.

Assistant Prosecutor McNamara has prosecuted numerous homicide cases on behalf of the Morris County Prosecutor's Office, including capital cases before the abolition of the penalty in 2007. He was lead trial counsel on State of New Jersey versus Porfirio Jimenez, a case which involved the kidnapping and murder of a 10 year-old boy that occurred in Morristown, New Jersey in May of 2001. AP McNamara argued successfully before the N.J. Supreme Court the first-impression issue that a defendant should bear the burden to prove the presence of mental retardation in order to bar the imposition of the death penalty. During the prosecution of Jimenez, he also successfully litigated the first Frye hearing to be held in New Jersey regarding the introduction of mitochondrial DNA testing and results.

Since 2009, he has served as a Special Deputy Attorney General in the contested proceeding before the N.J. Supreme Court-appointed Special Master examining whether New Jersey should modify the standards for admissibility for eyewitness identification testimony.

He served as Chairman of the Morris County Prosecutor's Committee to implement electronic recordation of suspect stationhouse interviews on a county-wide basis in 2005.

He is currently serving his third term as a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Model Criminal Jury Charges.

He is a member of the bar of the State of New Jersey, the State of New York, the Supreme Court of the United States, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Melanie Smith, Esq.
PreIndictment Early Disposition Conference Unit/ Screening Unit/ Trial Team Unit

Assistant Prosecutor Melanie Smith, Esq. earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, in 1992. She obtained her Juris Doctorate degree from Seton Hall University Law School, Newark, New Jersey in 1996.

While in college and law school she worked as an intern and law clerk in the Morris County Prosecutor's Office. Upon her graduation from Law School, Assistant Prosecutor Smith served as a dual law clerk to the Honorable B. Theodore Bozonelis, A.J.S.C. and the Honorable Catherine M. Langlois, J.S.C., who were both serving in the Criminal Division of Morris County.

Assistant Prosecutor Smith was hired in 1997 immediately following her judicial clerkship and has been assigned to the Juvenile Unit, Trial Team, Sex Crimes/Child Endangerment Unit and Special Enforcement Unit. In March of 2006, she was designated to be the Supervising Assistant Prosecutor of the Sex Crimes/Child Endangerment Unit. The majority of her career has been spent serving the victims of sexual assault and prosecuting those defendants who prey upon the children of Morris County. In July of 2010 she assumed responsibility for overseeing the Early Disposition Conference Unit of the Trial Team, as well as Screening Unit and overseeing a Trial Team Unit.

Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Robert Weber, Esq.
Professional Standards Unit Supervisor
Forfeiture Unit Supervisor

Assistant Prosecutor Robert (Bob) Weber, a life-long resident of Morris County, joined the Morris County Prosecutor's Office in September of 1989. Assistant Prosecutor Weber graduated from The American University, Washington, D.C., in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science with a minor in American History.

In 1988, Assistant Prosecutor Weber earned his Juris Doctorate degree from Rutgers University School of Law - Camden. While in law school Assistant Prosecutor Weber worked for the N.J. State Legislature, Office of Legislative Services. Upon graduation from law school, Assistant Prosecutor Weber served as a law clerk to former Morris County Superior Court Judge Daniel R. Coburn.

Since joining the Morris County Prosecutor's Office, Assistant Prosecutor Weber has been assigned to a variety of units within the office: the Intake Unit, the Juvenile/Domestic Violence Unit, the Trial Unit, the Forfeiture Unit and the Narcotics/Gambling Unit of the Special Enforcement Section. In 1995, Assistant Prosecutor Weber was designated the Chief Assistant Prosecutor of the Office's Special Enforcement Section and the Forfeiture Unit.

In February of 2008, after spending 17 years prosecuting drug cases, Assistant Prosecutor Weber was re-assigned by Prosecutor Bianchi to supervise the Professional Standards Unit of the Morris County Prosecutor's Office. Assistant Prosecutor Weber also continues to supervise the office's Forfeiture Unit.

Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Tia Manochio, Esq.
Family Division Supervisor

Assistant Prosecutor Tia Manochio, Esq., obtained her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Seton Hall University in 1997, majoring in Criminal Justice. Following graduation, she earned her Juris Doctorate degree from Seton Hall University Law School, Newark, NJ in 2000.

After graduating from Law School, Assistant Prosecutor Manochio served as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Joseph Riva, J.S.C., who at the time was assigned to the Criminal Part, in Passaic County. She became an Assistant Prosecutor with the Essex County Prosecutor's Office in September 2001. She was assigned to the Domestic Violence Unit.

In December 2002, Assistant Prosecutor Manochio joined the Morris County Prosecutor's Office and was assigned to the Domestic Violence Unit. Over the past four and a half years, Assistant Prosecutor Manochio has prosecuted numerous cases involving Domestic Violence. As part of her assignment in the Domestic Violence Unit, she supervised the Weapon Return Unit, which included the review and determination of whether or not to return weapons to persons involved in Domestic Violence situations. Additionally she provided legal assistance to the municipal police departments with questions relating to Domestic Violence, Weapon Forfeiture and Return and Violations of Restraining Orders. Assistant Prosecutor Manochio also coordinated the training curriculum for the Morris County mandatory annual In-Service Training Program for all law enforcement officers within the County.

In December 2004, Assistant Prosecutor Manochio was recognized by the Morris County Prosecutor's Office for professionalism and legal efforts in protecting victims of domestic violence. In February 2007, she received her teaching certification from the State of New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety Division of Criminal Justice Police Training Commission to instruct law enforcement officers in the area of Domestic Violence and the Annual In-Service Training Program.

Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Erin Smith Wisloff, Esq.
Appellate Division Supervisor

Assistant Prosecutor Erin Smith Wisloff, Esq. earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1989. She obtained her Juris Doctorate degree from Widener Law School, Wilmington, Delaware in 1992.

After graduating law school Assistant Prosecutor Wisloff served as the law clerk to the Honorable Donald G. Collester, J.A.D., now retired.

In 1993 she was hired by the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office as an Assistant Prosecutor and was assigned initially to the Appellate Unit, then to the Domestic Violence Unit and later went on to co-supervise the Juvenile Unit.

In April of 1997, Assistant Prosecutor Wisloff joined the Morris County Prosecutor's Office and was assigned to the Trial Division. In 2001, she was assigned to supervise the Grand Jury Unit where she was responsible for coordinating, preparing and presenting all of the Trial Division cases to the Grand Jury.

Prosecutor Bianchi has assigned Assistant Prosecutor Wisloff to supervise the Appellate Division. In addition to handling appeals, she is responsible for supervising the attorneys assigned to Trial Team 1 of the Trial Division along with the Legal Intern staff.

Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Catherine Broderick, Esq.

After graduating from Seton Hall University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English, Assistant Prosecutor Catherine Broderick earned her Juris Doctorate Degree from Seton Hall University School of Law. She then served as Judicial Clerk to the Honorable David S. Cramp, P.J.S.C., in Morris County Superior Court.

Since her appointment as an Assistant Prosecutor, she has prosecuted numerous crimes including, bank robbery, kidnapping, drug possession and burglary. She served six years in the Sex Crimes/Child Abuse Unit, prosecuting over 500 cases involving child physical and sexual abuse, incest, domestic violence, stalking and adult sexual assault.

In 1994, Assistant Prosecutor Broderick began to prosecute Morris County's first Megan's Law cases, in addition to her responsibilities in the Sex Crimes/Child Abuse Unit. In 1999, Assistant Prosecutor Broderick was named to serve as the Legal Liaison to the F.B.I. Innocent Images Task Force. This Task Force investigated cases of child pornography on the Internet. She prosecuted numerous cases of child pornography and internet child luring.

In 2002, the Special Victims Unit was formed and Assistant Prosecutor Broderick was named Supervisor of the Unit. In addition to handling Megan's Law cases, the Special Victims Unit handled Missing Person cases, physical child abuse crimes, Bias Crimes and crimes against the retired and elderly.

Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi, Esq. has named Assistant Prosecutor Broderick as the Supervising Assistant Prosecutor in the Specialized Services Unit, which includes the Megan's Law Unit, Missing Persons Units, Drug Court Team, Weapons Returns, Evidence Destruction, OPRA and Civil Discovery Requests.

In addition to her other responsibilities, Assistant Prosecutor Broderick has taught over 125 classes to numerous law enforcement and community groups on various topics including child sexual abuse, the effectiveness of Multi-Disciplinary Teams, internet safety for parents, crime prevention for seniors, and of course Megan's Law.

Assistant Prosecutor Broderick is a graduate of the Worrall F. Mountain Inn of Court, and the Seton Hall University School of Law Alumni Inn of Court, and the Morris County Chamber of Commerce Leadership Morris Program.

She is a member of the Morris County Bar Association, and the New Jersey State Bar Association. She is a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Morris County Bar Association, and currently serves as Co-Chair of the Criminal Practice Committee.

Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Meg Rodriguez, Esq.
Sex Crimes Unit Supervisor

Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Meg Rodriguez, Esq. earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, in 1992, majoring in History and minoring in Psychology. She obtained her Juris Doctorate degree from Widener University School of Law, Wilmington, Delaware in 1996. At Widener, AP Rodriguez received honors for her coursework in Children and the Law.

Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Rodriguez was hired by the Morris County Prosecutor's Office in 1997 as a Law Clerk. She was sworn-in as an Assistant Prosecutor in 1998 and was assigned to the Juvenile Unit. Thereafter, SAP Rodriguez was assigned to the Trial Team, where she conducted a number of jury trials, including narcotics, burglaries and aggravated assaults. SAP Rodriguez has also worked in the Major Crimes Unit and in the Domestic Violence as an Acting Supervising Assistant Prosecutor.

SAP Rodriguez was initially assigned to the Sex Crimes/Child Endangerment Unit in 2003, where she has prosecuted numerous cases involving both child and adult victims of sexual assault. Some of the notable cases Rodriguez has assisted in the investigation of and directed the prosecution of include State v. Timothy Iberer, where the defendant entered a home and sexually assaulted a 5 year old child, and State v. Eric Rangel and State v. Andrew Pena, both violent stranger sexual assaults on young women. Iberer, Rangel and Pena are all currently serving lengthy State Prison sentences. SAP Rodriguez is currently supervising the Sex Crimes Unit.