Having survived the Operation Tiger slaughter by German torpedo boats off the coast of Wales he landed on Utah Beach in Normandy and was on the communication staff of the NOIC-Utah, the naval officer in charge of the beachhead. He later went to Princeton University and then Rutgers University Law School. He worked for the FBI and took a position as assistant U.S. attorney in the District of Puerto Rico. From 1968 to 1980, he worked in the banking industry and in 1980, President Jimmy Carter appointed Acosta as the U.S attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. In 1982, Raymond L. Acosta was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as the 10th U.S. district judge for the District of Puerto Rico.