Indian American U. S. attorney Gurbir Singh Grewal will be the new acting County prosecutor from Jan 4, 2016 and will take over for John L. Molinelli, who ended his 14-year tenure as the county’s top law enforcement official, said state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck.

Grewal has prosecuted major white-collar crimes for the U.S. Attorney’s Office and was nominated by Governor Christie over two years ago for the job.

Weinberg said that she and other senators were notified Thursday, December 31, afternoon by Christie’s office. The governor’s office did not respond to questions about the appointment.

Grewal, 42, joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2010 and serves as chief of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark. In October, he represented the government in a case in which the president of a New Jersey-based textile company was sentenced to three years in prison for defrauding investors of $4 million.

“He’s an extraordinary talent,” said state Sen. Kevin O’Toole, R-Cedar Grove, whose district includes parts of Bergen, Passaic and Morris counties. “You have folks who have worked with him in the office who have represented clients against him and have lost and they all have been very complimentary,” O’Toole said.

Grewal’s nomination ends several months of speculation over whom Christie would tap for the post, which Molinelli, a Democrat, has held since being nominated by Gov. James E. McGreevey in 2002. He was reappointed by Gov. Jon Corzine and has continued to serve as a holdover since his term expired.

Grewal will be the first Sikh to serve as a county prosecutor in New Jersey, according to leaders in the state’s Sikh community.

The Indian Panorama reached out to the Sikh community leaders in New Jersey on Mr Grewal’s appointment, here is what some of the sikh leaders had to say…

Hardip Singh Goldy, President, Shiromani Akali Dal – New Jersey said sikhs worldwide are reaching new heights and he is very happy with the news that someone from their community could be the next leader of the county Prosecutor’s Office.

Grewal is a graduate of Georgetown University and obtained his law degree from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at The College of William & Mary. He is past president of the South Asian Bar Association of New York and is a member of the New Jersey Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association.