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David T. Wilentz


David Theodore Wilentz (December 21, 1894 – July 6, 1988) was the Attorney General of New Jersey from 1934 to 1944. In 1935 he successfully prosecuted Bruno Hauptmann in the Lindbergh kidnapping trial. He was the father of Robert Wilentz, Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1979 to 1996, as well as Norma Hess, wife of Leon Hess, founder of Hess Corporation and Warren Wilentz

Wilentz was born in Dvinsk in the Russian Empire (now Daugavpils, Latvia) on December 21, 1894. The following year he emigrated with his parents to the United States, settling in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. He graduated from Perth Amboy High School in 1912. Upon graduation he worked at the Perth Amboy Evening News, eventually becoming sports editor (replacing future Governor of New Jersey Harold Hoffman). He was also manager of the local basketball team.

In World War I he served in the United States Army, entering as a private and receiving an honorable discharge as a lieutenant.

He commuted to Manhattan to attend night classes at New York Law School, receiving his LL.B. degree in 1917. He was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1919. In the same year he married Lena Goldman (December 25, 1898 – June 10, 1991) and they settled in Perth Amboy. Wilentz entered private practice there and also became involved in local Democratic politics.


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