New Monmouth County Prosecutor Ray Santiago Sworn-In

Raymond S. Santiago was sworn in Friday as Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor, a title he assumes pending confirmation to a full five-year term by the New Jersey State Senate after being nominated for the role by Governor Phil Murphy late last month.

The swearing-in ceremony, administered at the Monmouth County Courthouse by Monmouth County Superior Court Assignment Judge Lisa P. Thornton, was attended by members of Santiago’s family, Prosecutor’s Office staff, Monmouth County officials, and local law-enforcement leaders.

“Today marked the first steps into a role I view as a truly extraordinary honor and privilege. To the people of Monmouth County, I solemnly pledge to serve you to the very best of my abilities, and with a sense of fervor befitting the title,” Acting Prosecutor Santiago said. “This will entail not only ensuring the fair and equal administration of justice, but also that this Office will actively be an integral part of the very fabric of the communities we work to protect.”

Santiago, 48, will now assume responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the Prosecutor’s Office, Monmouth County’s largest law firm, including management of a staff of approximately 280. He is also responsible for the coordination of the law-enforcement efforts of nearly four dozen municipal police departments and two college police departments.

Raymond S. Santiago was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 1996 and received his law degree from the City University of New York School of Law at Queens College. In 1999, he was sworn in as an Assistant District Attorney at the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, and upon leaving that office, he entered private practice.

He is admitted to the bar associations in New Jersey, New York, the U.S. District Court of New Jersey, and the U.S. District Courts of the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.

Santiago most recently headed the Law Offices of Santiago & Associates, P.C., based in Freehold, a law firm that focuses on the litigation of criminal and immigration law. He has also served as a public defender for municipalities in Monmouth County and as a Pool Attorney for the State of New Jersey Public Defender’s Office, Monmouth Vicinage, since 2002, where he has assisted indigent defendants faced with various crimes or offenses.

Santiago has lived and worked in Monmouth County for over 20 years.

Santiago is only the second Prosecutor of Hispanic descent in the history of the Office, following Luis A. Valentin, who served from 2005 to 2011. He succeeds Lori Linskey, who served as Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor since June 2021; Linskey will remain with the Office in an advisory capacity to assist with the transition.

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