TRENTON – Assemblyman Robert Karibinchak (D-18) will supplant Assemblyman Ralph Caputo (D-28) as deputy whip of the new regime led by Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-19), who today assumed the oath of office.

Caputo remained loyal to Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-32) even as powerful Essex County Democratic Committee Chairman Leroy Jones publicly delivered Essex to Coughlin, creating friction in the countywide organization.