Chatham Man Named First Asst. Attorney General

One Chatham man was among the new members of the Attorney General's Office leadership team, announced Tuesday by state Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa.

Thomas R. Calcagni was named as first assistant attorney general under Chiesa. Since 2010, Calcagni has served as acting director of the Division of Consumer Affairss, where Chiesa said he "[took] an aggressive approach to protecting consumers through many new proactive initiatives," and "significantly raised the profile of the division."

Prior to that post Calcagni worked for nine years in the Special Prosecutions Division of the US Attorney's Office for the New Jersey district, where he was eventually named Assistant US Attorney.

"Tom rose by his expertise and skills to be assigned to try high-profile corruption cases in the Special Prosecutions Division. His talent and experience make him an ideal selection for First Assistant,” Chiesa said.

Calcagni received his undergraduate degree in 1994 from Bowdoin College and his law degree in 1997 from Seton Hall University School of Law in Newark.

While serving as acting director of the DCA, Calcagni implemented bans of toxic "bath salts" and synthetic marijuana designer drugs, and oversaw the launch of the New Jersey Prescription Monitoring Program.

He also oversaw a new campaign of sting and undercover operations to target noncompliant and predatory businesses and introduced improvements to the DCA's consumer education campaign and the effectiveness of its Consumer Service Center.