Former County Prosecutor Nominated to Serve as Superior Court Judge

A state Senate committee will vote this morning on whether to appoint former Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan to serve as a Superior Court judge in Middlesex County.

Kaplan, a resident of Highland Park, served as Middlesex County Prosecutor from 2002 to 2013 stepping down last year to take a job with the state Division of Criminal Justice.

According to the state, a notice of intent was filed on Jan. 2, 2014 naming him as a nominee to the bench. 

He was replaced by Acting Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey.

The governor's office filed papers on Jan. 2 to nominate Kaplan as a superior court judge in Middlesex County.

Kaplan's leadership as prosecutor drew criticism in New Brunswick in recent years. 

Advocates for the family of Barry Deloatch, a city man shot and killed in a struggle with police, claimed the office wasn't doing enough to investigate the circumstances. 

When Kaplan left the Prosecutor's Office, the department was dealing with a lawsuit filed by retired investigator Gabriela Nieves, who claimed a hostile work environment developed after she complained about less experienced male colleagues being chosen for promotions over her in 2010. 

His office also turned a blind eye to corruption in the Middlesex County Sheriff's Office involving now-jailed former county sheriff Joseph Spicuzzo, according to a report in New Brunswick Today. 
 
Last year, Spicuzzo was sentenced to nine years in prison for soliciting bribes from people seeking jobs or promotions in the county sheriff's office.