Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina ending his term

MOUNT HOLLY – Burlington County’s top law enforcement officer is stepping down after a five-year term.

“There’s no question I’m going to miss this," said County Prosecutor Scott Coffina, who’s submitted his resignation to the state Attorney General’s Office.

But his agency won't miss a beat with his departure, he predicted.

“The excellence of this office does not emanate from whoever is sitting in the corner office,” Coffina said in an interview. “The people out there developing evidence, making the arguments and building the cases in court, the victim advocates, they make this office what it is.”

More: One victim in Millville man's gold-bar scam lost $90K, later killed herself

More: Philly man accused of predawn rampage in Berlin Township

Still, Coffina acknowledges having a considerable impact at the prosecutor’s office, which employs about 130 attorneys, investigators and other staffers.

The agency also oversees local police departments across the county.

A representative of the state Attorney General's Office could not be reached for comment on Coffina's possible successor.

“I was surprised to learn just how broad the reach is from this position,” Coffina recalled of his March 2017 arrival as an appointee of then-Gov. Chris Christie.

“There were pleasant surprises — including the difference you could make as a county prosecutor,” said Coffina, 54, who is preparing to resume the private practice of law.

“That’s been one of the most rewarding things.”

Among other accomplishments, Coffina noted an effort to target drug dealers involved in fatal overdoses, while also increasing services to people with substance abuse disorder.

He pointed to periodic surges by his office and local police to quell violence in towns beset by gun crimes, as well as a greater emphasis on community involvement and supervisory training.

In taking office, Coffina vowed to prosecute drug dealers found liable for fatal overdoses.

“We actually have charged 30 cases” for strict liability homicide in drug deaths, he said. "The sentences for what would otherwise be a (drug) distribution case of maybe three years has instead become 10 to 12.”

“The pushback we get (from critics) is that (drug dealers) never put a gun to the victim’s head,” Coffina allowed. “But when you’re dealing with substance abuse disorder, certainly the initial part is a choice, but at some point it becomes an illness.”

“And the dealers are taking advantage of someone really vulnerable,” Coffina continued, noting the increased danger from drugs laced with fentanyl.

“If (drug dealers) are going to gamble with their customers’ lives, they can take a bigger risk with their own,” he said.

The prosecutor’s office also has expanded efforts to help drug users access treatment options through its Straight … to Treatment program.

The program allows drug users to come to local police stations to be connected with recovery programs. It launched in March 2018 with Evesham's police department, and now operates in five local towns.

Coffina earlier this year announced a $900,000 federal grant would help expand the program and a similar effort run by police officers, Operation Helping Hand.

“It’s so tragic,” he said of the opioid epidemic. “I get an update on every fatal overdose in the county. And rarely is the person over 50, so you’re aware of the number of years that are stolen from them.”

Coffina said he’s similarly developed a close awareness of the county’s homicides by regularly responding to crime scenes.

“I do it out of respect for the victims and their families, and to support our detectives and the local police officers,” he said. “They’re up in the middle of the night, so I can be, too.”

Coffina said his crime-scene visits also help with decisions on charges and plea agreements. "I'm not playing catch-up on the facts.”

“We’ve made arrests in 90 percent of homicides since 2018,” Coffina added, comparing that to a national average of about 54 percent.

“This is a very safe county but we rank sixth statewide in the number of filed criminal cases,” he continued.

The prosecutor's office also helped respond to deadly violence in some towns, including Willingboro in 2016 and 2017.

"The first thing I did was ride along in those towns,” Coffina said. “We surged resources into those towns. We closed investigations and locked up many of those people.”

He noted violence flared again in 2020 and 2021, particularly in Willingboro and Pemberton Township, “when some of the people we had previously locked up got out of jail.”

The prosecutor's office responded in part by bringing racketeering charges late last year against six alleged members of a Pemberton Township street gang, the Gotti Boys Movement.

Gang members allegedly were involved in the 2021 slaying of a Willingboro teen targeted by mistake and the non-fatal shooting of a Willingboro woman and a toddler, also unintended victims.

“It’s pretty novel at a state level to bring a racketeering case,” said Coffina. “I was pleased to develop that.”

Coffina, who put a greater emphasis on community involvement and supervisory training, also noted efforts to protect children from online threats during pandemic lockdowns.

"We were really locked in and focused,” said the prosecutor, noting 46 people faced charges tied to child exploitation between May 2020 and June 2021.

Coffina, whose resignation would take effect May 31, said he's ready for a change after seven years in public service. He served two years as Christie's senior deputy chief counsel before coming to the prosecutor's office.

Coffina previously worked in private practice and public service, including a White House role as associate counsel to President George W. Bush from May 2007 until January 2009.

“I’ve tried to put everything I have into the job," said Coffina, a Marlton resident and the father of three teenaged sons.

"The time is right to do something else."

Jim Walsh covers public safety, economic development and other beats for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.

Support local journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Burlington County Times: Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina: 'I'm going to miss this'