Academics
Mr. Butchko earned his undergraduate degree in 1984 from St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia, Pa. in Criminal Justice with honors. Mr. Butchko earned his law degree in 1991 from Rutger’s University School of Law - Camden, in Camden, New Jersey.
Professional Experience
Mr. Butchko served five years as a Detective and twenty-one years as a Deputy Attorney General for the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice. As a Deputy Attorney General, he worked in several Bureaus in the Division and served in a number of supervisory roles. He served in the Casino Prosecutions Bureau prosecuting a variety of casino crimes and later supervised the unit as the Bureau Chief of the Specialized Crimes Bureau. He served the longest in the Major Narcotics Bureau, later named the Narcotics and Organized Crime Bureau, as a Deputy Attorney General and later Deputy Chief, where he prosecuted narcotics, gang, gun, and organized crime cases of state-wide significance. As Chief of the Specialized Crimes Bureau he was responsible for the supervision of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Unit, Bias Crime Unit, Cargo Theft Unit, Casino Prosecution Unit, Environmental Crimes Unit, Labor Prosecutions Unit, Motor Vehicle Commission Unit, Human Trafficking Unit and the Atlantic City TASK Force. During this time he worked on several important initiatives including the state-wide prosecution of cases resulting from the Motor Vehicle Commission use of facial recognition software to identify false identifications, and the formation of the Atlantic City TASK Force. The TASK force was composed of members of six law enforcement agencies, the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, New Jersey State Police, Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office, Atlantic County Sheriff's Office, Atlantic City Police Department, and the New Jersey Division of Parole. He was also responsible for the organization and training of the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)/New Jersey State Police (NJSP) Joint Firearms Task Force. During his career, Mr. Butchko supervised approximately hundreds of Detectives, Deputy Attorney’s General, and support staff.
Mr. Butchko was a certified instructor with the Police Training Commission He has also been a guest speaker at various gang and narcotics investigator training courses, lecturing in his areas of expertise in narcotics, gangs, wiretap and trial practice.
Admitted to Practice
Mr. Butchko is admitted to practice in the state and federal courts in the State of New Jersey and has practiced law since 1991.
