Jerome M. Epstein (born March 15, 1937) is an American politician who served in the New Jersey Senate as a Republican from 1972 to 1974 and later went to federal prison for pirating millions of dollars worth of fuel oil.
[1] A resident of Scotch Plains, Epstein was elected to the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders in 1967 and served one term.
He ran with two incumbent GOP Senators, Matthew John Rinaldo and Frank X. McDermott for the open seat of Nicholas LaCorte (R-Union), who had resigned to become a Judge.
[2] In 1972, Epstein wanted Leslie Glick, an ex-Assistant Union County Prosecutor, to get a Superior Court Judgeship, but Governor William Cahill instead nominated Stephen Bercik, a former Mayor of Elizabeth.
[3] Feuds with Cahill and with local Republican leaders in Union County caused Epstein to lose party support in his bid for re-election to a second term in 1973.