Prosecutor Romankow graduated from Seton Hall University and the Rutgers School of Law. After graduating from law school, the Prosecutor was admitted to the State of New Jersey Bar and the Bar of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
Prior to his appointment as Prosecutor, Romankow was a partner in a private law firm where he was well known for his extensive civil and criminal litigation expertise and has been a guest lecturer on trial techniques throughout New Jersey. He has served as Chairman of the Union County Ethics Committee and has been a member of the Judicial Appointments Committee, which screens and recommends judicial and prosecutorial appointment nominees.
Outside of the legal arena, Prosecutor Romankow served as the mayor of the Township of Berkeley Heights in 1986 and 1987.
Since his appointment as Prosecutor, Romankow served as President of the Prosecutor’s Association of New Jersey and chaired the Prosecutor’s Association Juvenile Justice Committee. He has also served in various capacities on the Drug Court Committee, the Child Life Protection Commission and the Coalition for the Prevention of Substance Abuse.
When he took office as Prosecutor, Romankow vowed to make drug interdiction and gang prevention and prosecution the centerpieces of his administration. Since that time he has overseen 20 major narcotic investigations, which encompassed over 200 telephone facilities, car bugs, and global positioning systems being court authorized for electronic surveillance, resulting in the confiscation of large amounts of illicit drugs packaged for distribution, the seizure of millions of dollars in cash and property, and the arrest of dozens of new convicted drug dealers.
At the direction of Prosecutor Romankow, Union County became one of the first in the state to employ the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) statute against drug dealers and members of their organizations. Electronic surveillance conducted under the direction of Prosecutor Romankow have led to the arrest and conviction of organized crime figures, gang members and leaders, drug kingpins and even decorated law enforcement officers. Prosecutor Romankow has facilitated cooperation amongst all levels of law enforcement including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Department of Justice, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the New Jersey State Police and countless state, county and municipal police agencies. The Union County Prosecutor’s Office has consistently led all other agencies in the State in the number of electronic surveillance investigations conducted and has been cited for the most aggressive and innovative investigation techniques employed.
Prosecutor Romankow in continuing his effort to stem violence created a Gang Task Force and Gang Intelligence Unit. This newly created Unit is specifically charged with investigating gang-related crimes and prosecuting these various felons. At his direction, a gang member directory was created. This directory is the first pictorial directory to utilize various determining identifiers from the United States Federal Government. This directory has been provided to every municipality within Union County, along with the state and federal law enforcement agencies.
In the months following September 11, 2001, it was clear there was an ongoing threat of violence from terrorist groups against the United States. Within Union County there are several large critical infrastructure sites including a refinery, an international airport, over a dozen public mass transportation stations as well as major state highways, cargo docks and bridges. To address this threat, Prosecutor Romankow developed the first countywide Counter Terrorism Task Force with full time coordinators. Since its inception, this unit has now become the largest County Counter Terrorism Unit in the State of New Jersey.
Romankow is a frequent lecturer on the topic of Drug Interdiction, Gang Violence and Human Trafficking. The Prosecutor recently testified before the New Jersey Assembly Judiciary Committee on the plight of women and children forced into servitude.
Recently he traveled to Columbia to meet with Drug Enforcement Agents and Columbian Officials including the Attorney General of Columbia. The focus of the meeting was to discuss drug trafficking between Columbia and the United States and the impact these drugs have on local government and law enforcement. |
