N.J. senators agree on a pick for U.S. marshal

Admit it: The last federal marshal you could name was Matt Dillon, the character from Gunsmoke.  Or maybe Sam Girard, the character Tommy Lee Jones played in The Fugitive.

At least New Jerseyans might soon have a new U.S. Marshal whose name they can try to remember.

The state’s squabbling U.S. senators, Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg, have supposedly agreed on a pick for the open post: former N.J. state trooper Juan Mattos Jr.

The inside baseball on why it took so long to arrive at a name is spelled in this article from the Star-Ledger.

Mattos still has to be formally nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.  He’d be the first Hispanic to hold the job in New Jersey.

And what do modern-day U.S. Marshals do? They track down fugitives, protect federal buildings, serve warrants and transport prisoners.