William Cary Edwards (July 20, 1944 – October 20, 2010) was a

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

politician who served as the

Attorney General of New Jersey The attorney general of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state and oversees the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Department of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by the governor of New Jersey, confi ...

from 1986 to 1989.

Early life

He was born on July 20, 1944, in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Ridgewood, New Jersey Ridgewood is a Village (New Jersey), village in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Ridgewood is a suburban commuter town, bedroom community of New York City, located approximately northwest of Midtown M ...

. Edwards grew up in

Fair Lawn, New Jersey Fair Lawn is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and a bedroom community, bedroom suburb located northwest of New York City. As of the 2020 United States census, the boro ...

and was raised Catholic by his mother, Virginia, who had converted to Roman Catholicism. His parents separated when he was 11. He and his siblings (a brother, James and a sister, Cheryl) moved with their mother to East Paterson (now

Elmwood Park, New Jersey Elmwood Park is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and is a bedroom suburb located from New York City. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 21,422, an increase of 2,019 (+10.4%) from ...

).via

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

"W. Cary Edwards, New Jersey Public Servant, Dies at 66"
. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', April 25, 1993. Accessed August 8, 2019. "Oakland, N.J. (AP) — W. Cary Edwards, who served more than 30 years in state government, including as attorney general, died Wednesday at his home here.... Mr. Edwards was born July 20, 1944, in Paterson, N.J., and raised in Fair Lawn. After working his way through high school and Seton Hall University and its law school, he was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1970." He graduated from St. Luke's High School in

Ho-Ho-Kus Ho-Ho-Kus () is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,258, an increase of 180 (+4.4%) from the 2010 census count of 4,078, which in turn reflected an i ...

, later studying business administration at

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

, where he graduated in 1967. He received his law degree from

Seton Hall University School of Law Seton Hall University School of Law is the law school of Seton Hall University, and is located in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Seton Hall Law is the only private law school in New Jersey. The school confers three law degrees: Juris Doctor, Ma ...

in 1970 and was admitted to the New Jersey bar the same year.Official bio
, Office of the

. Accessed March 20, 2008

Career

Edwards married Lynn Cozzolino in 1970. In 1974 they moved to

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

, and a year later Edwards was elected councilman there. In 1977 he was elected to the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

. He would serve three terms in the Assembly and be named assistant minority leader.

Thomas Kean Thomas Howard Kean ( ; born April 21, 1935) is an American politician, statesman, and academic administrator from the state of New Jersey. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, Kean served two terms as the 48th governor of New Jersey f ...

served as Edwards' mentor in the Assembly, and when Kean became

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

in 1982, he selected Edwards as his chief counsel. Kean then named Edwards Attorney General, and he was sworn in on January 21, 1986, the day of Kean's second inauguration. As Attorney General, Edwards sought to increase the size of the Department of Law and Public Safety; initiated a new anti-drug program; instituted a task force to combat organized crime; planned a virtual overhaul of the Division of Motor Vehicles; and confronted problems such as insurance fraud and state land use planning. The New Jersey Attorney General's office and the

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention ...

created a

Task Force A task force (TF) is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology. Many ...

, named "Operation Iceman", to apprehend murderer

Richard Kuklinski Richard Leonard Kuklinski (: April 11, 1935 – March 5, 2006), also known by his nickname the Iceman, was an American criminal and leader of a New Jersey-based burglary ring. He engaged in criminal activities for most of his adult life that b ...

. It led to the arrest of Kuklinski who was charged with five murder counts and six weapons violations, as well as attempted murder, robbery, and attempted robbery. Edwards spoke to the media in a press conference about the case describing them as murders for profit. ″He set individuals up for business deals, they would disappear and the money would end up in his hands.″. Edwards ran for

in 1989, losing to

Jim Courter James Andrew Courter (born October 14, 1941) is an American Republican Party politician and attorney. He represented parts of northwestern New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1991. In 1989, he unsuccessfully ...

in the Republican primary. He ran again in 1993, losing out to

Christine Todd Whitman Christine Temple Whitman (; born September 26, 1946) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President George W. Bush ...

, who went on to victory in the general election. In 1995, Edwards opened a law firm, Edwards & Caldwell, where he worked until 2008. In 1997, Whitman named Edwards to the

New Jersey State Commission of Investigation The New Jersey State Commission of Investigation (SCI) is an independent governmental fact-finding agency in the U.S. State of New Jersey whose mission is to identify and investigate organized crime, corruption and waste, fraud and abuse in gover ...

. In 2004, Governor

Richard Codey Richard James Codey (born November 27, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 53rd governor of New Jersey from 2004 to 2006. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the New Jersey Senate from 1982 to 2024 and as the President ...

appointed him chairman of the commission.

Death

Edwards died at his home in

Oakland, New Jersey Oakland is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey and a suburb of New York City. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 12,748, a decrease of six people from the 2010 census count of 12,754, whi ...

from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

on October 20, 2010, aged 66. He was survived by his wife and their two daughters.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, W. Cary 1944 births 2010 deaths People from Elmwood Park, New Jersey People from Fair Lawn, New Jersey People from Oakland, New Jersey Politicians from Paterson, New Jersey People from Ridgewood, New Jersey Deaths from cancer in New Jersey Politicians from Bergen County, New Jersey Seton Hall University School of Law alumni New Jersey city council members Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly New Jersey attorneys general 20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature