The Honorable Benedict Robert Nicosia, 101, passed away peacefully at home on July 9, 2022. Judge Nicosia was born to Robert and Anna (Carotenuto) in Brooklyn, New York, and he lived in Red Bank since 1923. He attended the Red Bank school system and earned a reputation as a lightweight boxer in his teenage years. In 1942 he enlisted in the U.S. Army Signal Corp and served in England during World War II. After the war, he graduated with a B.A. from Rutgers University and an LL.B. from Rutgers School of Law. Thereafter, he was admitted to the New Jersey Bar, and he joined the Quinn, Doremus, McCue, and Russell law firm.
Judge Nicosia was a member and trustee of the Monmouth County and New Jersey Bar Associations and the County Legal Aid Society. He served as Mayor of Red Bank for two terms from 1962-1965. In 1978 he was appointed by-then Governor Brendan Byrne to the Superior Court of New Jersey and sat in the Family, Civil, and Criminal Divisions for 10 years, the last three years as the presiding judge of the Criminal Division.
