After a rocky decade, Esther Suarez retires August 1 — and Hudson County should breathe a sigh of relief

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez will retire on August 1 after more than a decade in charge—a move many see as long overdue. Her tenure was plagued by scandal, mismanagement, and troubling alliances; it’s a development that the community would be well‑served to celebrate, not mourn.

⚖️ A legacy of incompetence, cronyism, and civil rights abuses

From the Katie Brennan case onward, critics accused Suarez of indifference and negligence. Brennan alleged sexual assault by a Murphy campaign official—Suarez’s response was widely criticized as tone‑deaf; many concluded she “doesn’t read their emails and lacks the faintest interest in actually doing the job”  .

She also courted controversy when accepting a Trailblazer award from Senator Bob Menendez—at the time under federal indictment for corruption—raising serious ethical questions about her political loyalties and judgments  .

🏛️ Promotions and pay‑to‑play: blowing past qualifications

Under Suarez’s watch, unqualified staff advanced to key positions—Capt. Patrick DeCarlo, promoted despite a diploma from a notorious “diploma mill,” and Gene Rubino, forced into a demotion when questioned about his fitness for the role  . Even a crime‑scene specialist sued Suarez’s office, alleging pregnancy discrimination in promotions  .

Moreover, Suárez’s husband owns a business paid over $100K by a Super PAC linked to Bayonne pay‑to‑play allegations—yet no meaningful internal investigation followed, even though Hudson County’s Public Integrity Unit was allegedly involved in clearing it  .

💸 Missing evidence cash – trust evaporated

In April 2021, cash recovered during investigations vanished while held in locked safes at the prosecutor’s office. Suarez’s reaction—a bland statement about betrayal—did little to assuage public concern. She wouldn’t disclose the amounts and left many with the sense of mismanagement, if not worse  .

🎯 Civil forfeiture abuse and due‑process violations

The ACLU‑NJ sued the prosecutor’s office, alleging routine abuse of civil asset forfeitures: bundling unrelated small‑value seizures into larger suits to force higher fees and bury people under procedural cost—fee structures made it effectively impossible to reclaim trivial property  .

📰 War on the press: “Don’t read newspapers”

During a community safety meeting, Suarez infamously instructed residents to ignore NJ.com or print news, and instead rely on her office’s Twitter feed. Critics called it an authoritarian and anti‑transparent approach that undermined democratic norms  .

🚔 Misinformation on Denzel Suitt case

In the case of JCPD officer Denzel Suitt, Suarez’s office allegedly issued a misleading press release about the verdict—omitting key jury decisions—and propagated public misinformation. Observers accused her office of intentionally deceiving the public rather than correcting the record  .

🎥 Questionable behavior during public questioning

At a hate‑crimes seminar, Suarez responded to a reporter’s question by filming on her phone and advising the journalist to seek legal counsel, rather than answering basic procedural questions—drawing sharp criticism for intimidation tactics.

A Dangerous Culture of Retaliation

The lawsuit from Detective Larsen is emblematic of a broader issue: an office that retaliates against its own employees while shielding its political allies. Rather than fixing the deep-rooted problems within her department, Suarez has presided over a culture that discredits whistleblowers and emboldens misconduct.

🧠 Opportunistic U.S. Attorney candidacy gone sour

Throughout her tenure, it seemed Suarez eyed the office of U.S. Attorney, with political insiders vetting her as a “Menendez ally.” According to commenters, her ties to Hudson’s machine politics overshadowed qualifications; once the White House dropped her, her support base wobbled due to past criticism of corruption.

Machine Politics

Another longstanding criticism of Esther Suarez’s tenure centers around her deep and inappropriate political entanglement with Union City Mayor and State Senator Brian Stack. Multiple sources have alleged that Suarez allowed Stack to exert undue influence over prosecutorial decisions, effectively enabling him to shield political allies from accountability while selectively targeting opponents. This erosion of prosecutorial independence has deeply undermined public trust in the impartiality of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office. To make matters worse, public records show that Suarez has personally contributed financially to Brian Stack’s political campaigns, raising serious ethical red flags about conflicts of interest and favoritism. Many in the community view her relationship with Stack not just as unethical, but as a blatant example of machine politics interfering with the administration of justice.

A community thankful for a long‑overdue change

Now that Suarez will step down on August 1, 2025, the people of Hudson County deserve a fresh start. Her decade-long reign was marked by procedural abuses, public misinformation, cronyism, and questionable ethics. In many ways, the traumas inflicted on residents—like wrongful forfeitures, media suppression, and internal theft—are a stain that won’t be erased overnight.

Many will breathe easier knowing that the Prosecutor’s Office can no longer operate unchecked under her leadership. The next chief has a chance:

To restore due process in forfeiture cases To instate transparent media policies To vet leadership for competence—not cronyism To regain public trust by being accountable, not adversarial

In sum: Suarez’s departure is a moment to thank the community—for its patience, resilience, and demand for accountability.

Hudson County deserves prosecutors who uphold justice—not spin, cronyism, or cover‑ups. With Suarez’s tenure ending, there’s hope the next administration will take that responsibility seriously.

And with this we say to Esther, so long and let the door hit you on the way out princess.

Nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah.

Hey hey hey, good bye.