Ghosts on the Coast

Jack Mullaney Interview Part 15: Background information on 1960’s Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey is given. In such a small town during the summer, where everybody knew everyone else, it immediately stood out to several eyewitnesses as odd to see someone as quiet and shy as Rosemary riding in a car with an older man who just looked different than the average townsperson.

The background: Jack was Assistant Prosecutor for Monmouth County in 1975 in charge of Robert Zarinsky’s trial for the murder of Rosemary Calandriello of Atlantic Highlands. This was a historic case in which a guilty verdict was achieved without her body ever having been found-- a reason why no other lawyer, until Jack, wanted to take the case. Between 1958-1974, Zarinsky is now known to have killed three girls and one police officer, and is the prime suspect in three more murders, also of teenage girls. Cold case DNA testing may find more.

Interview conducted at Jack’s home on June 3, 2026 by Greg Caggiano and Patty Bickauskas.

Jack Mullaney Interview Part 14: Jack discusses the brutal nature of the murders committed by Robert Zarinsky. He drove neighborhoods totally at random looking for female victims. The handle on the passenger’s side door of his car had been removed so that once someone got in, they could not get out.

The background: Jack was Assistant Prosecutor for Monmouth County in 1975 in charge of Robert Zarinsky’s trial for the murder of Rosemary Calandriello of Atlantic Highlands. This was a historic case in which a guilty verdict was achieved without her body ever having been found-- a reason why no other lawyer, until Jack, wanted to take the case. Between 1958-1974, Zarinsky is now known to have killed three girls and one police officer, and is the prime suspect in three more murders, also of teenage girls. Cold case DNA testing may find more.

Interview conducted at Jack’s home on June 3, 2026 by Greg Caggiano and Patty Bickauskas.

Jack Mullaney Interview Part 13: While seen as a historic verdict both in 1975 and today, life went on at the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. Jack's boss James Coleman never once mentioned the trial again, thanked him, or even said “Good job”. He did not want Jack to take the case as mentioned previously, and therefore would not acknowledge his success. Also discussed in this episode are the logistics of the trial and another horrible tragedy to strike the Calandriello family.

The background: Jack was Assistant Prosecutor for Monmouth County in 1975 in charge of Robert Zarinsky’s trial for the murder of Rosemary Calandriello of Atlantic Highlands. This was a historic case in which a guilty verdict was achieved without her body ever having been found-- a reason why no other lawyer, until Jack, wanted to take the case. Between 1958-1974, Zarinsky is now known to have killed three girls and one police officer, and is the prime suspect in three more murders, also of teenage girls. Cold case DNA testing may find more.

Interview conducted at Jack’s home on June 3, 2026 by Greg Caggiano and Patty Bickauskas.

Even though her body was never found, Rosemary Calandriello has a headstone at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Middletown / Red Bank, New Jersey. ⬇️

Her mother Agnes was insistent she be remembered on the family monument. As you can see, she has a date of birth (1952) but no date of death-- that was supposed to be added when her remains were finally found.

Agnes ended up outliving her husband and children. Rosemary's brother Patrick was also murdered in 1988 while working as a golf pro. His killer was found guilty of first degree murder and robbery. They had worked together at the same golf course.

For more information, please see our ongoing interview series with former Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Jack Mullaney.

Jack Mullaney Interview Part 12: Zarinsky’s defense attorney Richard Plechner made a closing statement that lasted for two and a half hours. The jury was exhausted. Everyone was expecting a recess, but Judge Ray McGowan immediately pointed to Jack and told him to begin his closing. Sensing he would lose and/or annoy the jury by making them sit for an extended amount of time, he spoke for only 20 minutes, ripping up his original speech and talking off the top of his head. The jury came back with a guilty verdict in less than a half hour. 

The background: Jack was Assistant Prosecutor for Monmouth County in 1975 in charge of Robert Zarinsky’s trial for the murder of Rosemary Calandriello of Atlantic Highlands. This was a historic case in which a guilty verdict was achieved without her body ever having been found-- a reason why no other lawyer, until Jack, wanted to take the case. Between 1958-1974, Zarinsky is now known to have killed three girls and one police officer, and is the prime suspect in three more murders, also of teenage girls. Cold case DNA testing may find more. 

Interview conducted at Jack’s home on June 3, 2026 by Greg Caggiano and Patty Bickauskas. 

Jack Mullaney Interview Part 11: Several people involved with the trial began to receive death threats via phone, including Sam Guzzi and Jack Mullaney’s family. Jack also discusses an issue with “Deadly Secrets” that made it seem like he had nothing to do with the case and was inept. The series described him as wearing a “rumpled suit”, which he humorously noted would have been impossible since his wife would not have let him out of the house looking that way. Jack then went to get a picture of himself dressed in a suit from the era of the trial. Unfortunately, we had a camera malfunction when filming it, but we can attest that he was a sharp dresser!

The background: Jack was Assistant Prosecutor for Monmouth County in 1975 in charge of Robert Zarinsky’s trial for the murder of Rosemary Calandriello of Atlantic Highlands. This was a historic case in which a guilty verdict was achieved without her body ever having been found-- a reason why no other lawyer, until Jack, wanted to take the case. Between 1958-1974, Zarinsky is now known to have killed three girls and one police officer, and is the prime suspect in three more murders, also of teenage girls. Cold case DNA testing may find more.

Interview conducted at Jack’s home on June 3, 2026 by Greg Caggiano and Patty Bickauskas.

Jack Mullaney Interview Part 10: On the eve of the trial, Jack and Sam Guzzi pay a visit to Agnes Calandriello at her home on Center Avenue in Atlantic Highlands. It was there that they discovered she had kept Rosemary’s bedroom exactly the way it was for the last six years in the hopes that she would return home. This prompts Jack to have a difficult conversation with her, telling Agnes that her daughter would not be coming home. More importantly, if she says as much on the stand, it would be enough reasonable double to cause a not-guilty verdict for Robert Zarinsky.

The background: Jack was Assistant Prosecutor for Monmouth County in 1975 in charge of Robert Zarinsky’s trial for the murder of Rosemary Calandriello of Atlantic Highlands. This was a historic case in which a guilty verdict was achieved without her body ever having been found-- a reason why no other lawyer, until Jack, wanted to take the case. Between 1958-1974, Zarinsky is now known to have killed three girls and one police officer, and is the prime suspect in three more murders, also of teenage girls. Cold case DNA testing may find more.

Interview conducted at Jack’s home on June 3, 2026 by Greg Caggiano and Patty Bickauskas.

Jack Mullaney Interview Part 9: Robert Zarinsky’s house has been searched. Even though nothing was found, the defense's first motion was to attack the search warrants. Not only did this alert Jack Mullaney and his clerk Alton Kenney that they must have found something without realizing, it also allowed the murder of Joanne Delardo and Doreen Carlucci to be attached to the affidavit.

The background: Jack was Assistant Prosecutor for Monmouth County in 1975 in charge of Robert Zarinsky’s trial for the murder of Rosemary Calandriello of Atlantic Highlands. This was a historic case in which a guilty verdict was achieved without her body ever having been found-- a reason why no other lawyer, until Jack, wanted to take the case. Between 1958-1974, Zarinsky is now known to have killed three girls and one police officer, and is the prime suspect in three more murders, also of teenage girls. Cold case DNA testing may find more.

Interview conducted at Jack’s home on June 3, 2026 by Greg Caggiano and Patty Bickauskas.