TRENTON — Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today announced that Camden County Prosecutor Mary Eva Colalillo will retire at the end of the month and Jill S. Mayer will serve as Acting Camden County Prosecutor effective October 1.  Mayer, who currently serves as a Deputy Director in the Division of Criminal Justice, has 24 years of experience handling criminal investigations and prosecutions.

Mayer replaces Prosecutor Colalillo who was appointed Camden County Prosecutor in June 2014.  Prosecutor Colalillo joined the Prosecutor’s Office after 21 years as a judge in Superior Court of Camden County, serving in the Family, Criminal, Equity and Civil divisions.

“For more than 30 years, Prosecutor Colalillo served the people of Camden County with integrity and class,” said Attorney General Grewal.  “She’s led the prosecutors and detectives of the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office in many significant investigations and prosecutions and devoted her career to public service.  Prosecutor Colalillo is a trusted colleague and her absence will be felt by all.”

During her more than two-decade tenure at the Division of Criminal Justice, Mayer has prosecuted cases involving violent gang members, drug dealers, financial crimes, racketeering, and casino crimes.  In addition to serving as Deputy Director, Mayer is counsel to the Attorney General on all matters concerning electronic surveillance and wiretap law and serves as legal advisor to the New Jersey State Police Witness Assistance Program.  She previously was  Bureau Chief of the Division of Criminal Justice Specialized Crimes Bureau.  For more than two years, Mayer oversaw the Attorney General’s Shooting Response Team and reviewed all officer involved shooting investigations submitted by each of the 21 county prosecutor’s offices.

“Deputy Director Mayer spent her career prosecuting the most dangerous criminals, all while leading and mentoring countless Deputy Attorneys General in this state and serving as the state’s premier source on wiretapping and racketeering,” said Attorney General Grewal.  “Jill is perfectly poised to serve as Acting Camden County Prosecutor.  Her tremendous leadership skills and career prosecutorial experience are the perfect combination to lead the office to great success.”

“I am honored to be selected by Attorney General Grewal to serve as Acting Camden County Prosecutor,” said Deputy Director Mayer.  “I look forward to working with the outstanding lawyers, detectives and staff in the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office and all of our great law enforcement partners in the county.  I also look forward to working closely with the community to make sure we do everything in our power to serve justice, promote safety, and protect the rights of all residents, especially victims of crime.”

Grewal said one example of Deputy Director Mayer’s violent crime expertise is her supervision of the 2014 dismantling of a violent narcotics distribution enterprise, with ties to Mexican drug cartels, that was dealing millions of dollars a year in heroin and cocaine in Camden.  She prosecuted numerous large-scale racketeering and leader of narcotics trafficking network cases in Camden during her more than 16 years as a deputy attorney general in the Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau.  In addition to the her day-to-day responsibilities, Deputy Director Mayer teaches at Top Gun and serves on the faculty of the Attorney General’s Advocacy Institute instructing in both trial advocacy skills and the substantive areas of cooperating witnesses, multi-defendant prosecutions, racketeering, wiretaps and communication data warrants, and management techniques.

Prior to becoming a prosecutor, Mayer clerked for the Honorable Albert J. Garofalo, Presiding Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Atlantic County.  Mayer received her bachelor’s degree from Dickinson College, with honors, and received her law degree from Widener University.