Belleville’s New Chief Judge Returns To Serve Hometown

BELLEVILLE, NJ — Joseph Angelo is undoubtedly a product of Belleville.

His grandparents lived on Belleville Avenue. His parents were married in St. Peter’s Church. And Angelo – a former township prosecutor – graduated from Belleville High School in 1987.

Now, he’s celebrating a triumphant new link to his hometown as the municipality’s newest chief judge.

About 200 people crammed into the Council Chambers for Angelo’s swearing-in ceremony this week. During the event, Angelo spoke about his deep connections with Belleville, sharing memories of his first day at School No. 10 and meeting his first friend, “Bob.”

“This is a celebration of Belleville,” Angelo told attendees. “This is not a celebration of me.”

Thanking his parents, William and Rose, Angelo added that he couldn’t have achieved what he has without the support of his wife, Diana, and their children, Gabrielle, Alexandra and Sabrina.

One of the biggest boosts they give him? Keeping him humble, Angelo said.

“My kids really put this into perspective for me,” Angelo recalled. “They said the most profound thing and inspiring thing to me. When I got the news, I said, ‘So, what do you guys think? Pretty big deal?’ They looked at me and said, ‘Dad, nobody cares.’”

“I cannot be happier to know that we have a tried-and-true Belleville guy as our judge,” Mayor Michael Melham said. “Joe has represented Belleville with class and dignity and we know he is going to continue to do that as our chief judge.”

Angelo also gave a shout-out to his recently retired predecessor, Judge Karen Smith, and Judge Frank Zinna for mentoring him.

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