With Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez retiring yesterday, First Assistant Prosecutor Wayne Mello has been named the new acting prosecutor, making him her immediate successor.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“As Acting Hudson County Prosecutor, Wayne Mello will bring valuable prosecutorial and leadership experience, institutional knowledge, and continuity. Respected by prosecutors and defense attorneys alike, his talent, background, attention to detail, and heartfelt work on behalf of victims make him the right choice to lead the fight for justice for the people of Hudson County,” New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said in a statement.
“I also want to thank his predecessor, Esther Suarez, for her many years of dedicated public service, during which she built up her office’s investigative, emergency-response, and victim-advocacy capabilities, and worked hard in seeking justice and making Hudson County safer.”
About two weeks ago, Suarez announced she would be retiring after a decade in the role and 25 years of service as a public employee. Mello assumed the role of acting prosecutor on Thursday, Platkin noted.
He will supervise the HCPO’s approximately 70 assistant prosecutors and more than 100 detectives as they investigate and prosecute major criminal cases involving violent crime, gun violence, narcotics distribution, cybercrimes, gang activity, and more.
“I am profoundly grateful and honored to be asked by Attorney General Platkin to serve in this position,” Mello stated.
“I look forward to taking on the challenges of the role and having the opportunity to stand up for victims, pursue justice, to improve public safety, and to ensure the well-being of all Hudson County residents.”
Before joining the HCPO, Mello served with the Morris and Bergen County Prosecutor’s offices. In Bergen County, he was the Chief Homicide Assistant Prosecutor.
Mello tried several cases that made headlines, including the 2006 Ramsey homicide case involving defendant Edward Ates.
Ates was charged in connection with the August 234d, 2006 fatal shooting of his former son-in-law, Paul Duncsak. Ates’ defense attorney infamously argued that his client’s excess weight, and resulting health problems, rendered Ates incapable of committing the killing.
But prosecutors presented evidence that Ates had researched gun silencers, how to pick a lock and how to commit murder prior to the crime and he colluded with his sister to invent an alibi.
Ates was convicted of first-degree murder and received a life sentence with parole ineligibility for more than 63 years.
Mello also prosecuted the case involving the death of Jody Ann Scharf, who was found dead on September 20th, 1992, after falling approximately 119 feet from a ledge at the top of a cliff at Palisades Interstate Park, along the Hudson River in Bergen County.
Initially no charges were filed stemming from her death and the medical examiner labeled the manner of death “could not be determined.” But in 2004, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office began a comprehensive re-review of the matter.
That reinvestigation determined the victim’s injuries were inconsistent with a passive fall down the cliff, and instead indicated she had been propelled off of it.
Mello obtained a jury conviction of murder for her husband, Stephen F. Scharf, and he was sentenced to life in prison.
He is a graduate of Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City and of Rutgers School of Law, getting admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1977. Mello also served in the military in the Vietnam War, attaining the rank of Infantry First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army.