Following the publication of an email that the state had denied existed for four years, the troubled Office of Public Integrity and Accountability has become the target of additional accusations of prosecutorial misconduct.
A sting operation involving the state’s cooperating witness, tax appeal lawyer Matt O’Donnell, occurred fifteen days prior to the May 2018 Bayonne mayoral election, in which former Assemblyman Jason O’Donnell (no relation) was a candidate, according to the explosive email sent by then-Deputy Attorney General Pearl Minato.
According to the email, Minato stated that Matt O’Donnell would give Jason O’Donnell donations, which include several authentic checks. After that, (Matt O’Donnell) will talk to (Jason) O’Donnell about various forms of donations, such street money.
In his email to three other deputy attorneys general, including John Nicodemo, Minato stated that the only goal of tonight’s meeting is to start a discussion about providing O Donnell with unlawful financial support for his impending mayoral bid.
According to court documents, there was no prior accusation or proof that Jason O. Donnell had engaged in unlawful activity because the OPIA did not initiate a case on him until the day Matt O. Donnell wore a wire for their meeting.
Rather, this could have been prosecutors trying to uphold Matt O’Donnell’s cooperation agreement on a whim, which isn’t always permissible.
Leo Hurley, Jason O. Donnell’s lawyer, charged that the OPIA had spent four years trying to evade and stop the release of information that might help the defendant in his defense.
In addition to being crucial to his defense, the evidence the state has been hiding for years will show that there was no compelling justification for the defendant’s consenting intercept other than whimsy, Hurley said.
Following ODonnell’s admission of engaging in unlawful practices, such as using straw donations, in connection with government contracts as an attorney, the sting operation was launched. It has been almost four years since he was last sentenced.
Hurley stated in a court document that there was no proof or finding that Jason O. Donnell had committed any crimes or had any plans to commit any crimes prior to April 23, 2018. Before heedlessly authorizing a consented intercept based on the State’s creation of a conversation about illicit activities, the state did not follow any significant procedures.
It seems that the OPIA targeted candidates because they were in the race for office. Over the past two years, important lawmakers have criticized the idea of selective integrity testing, which Matt O’Donnell and the OPIA choose their own targets for.
The defendant allegedly accepted a $10,000 cash bribe in a bag and was caught on a consented recording. According to an attorney general’s office representative, it should come as no surprise that the defendant is attempting to have the recording excluded from the trial. Regarding the defendant’s attempt to keep that tape out of court and to evade accountability, the parties cannot agree on the appropriate scope of discovery.
According to the spokesperson, it is the state’s duty to uphold discovery laws that keep this and other cases from turning into pointless legal sagas that needlessly postpone justice.
According to the spokeswoman, the state is eager to answer the defendant’s brief and pursue this matter in court rather than in the media.
The contentious Nicodemo has been accused of prosecuting misconduct in numerous instances and by a number of defense lawyers, all of whom have previously served as federal and state prosecutors. In 2021, Nicodemo assured Superior Court Judge Mitzi Galis-Menendez that all discovery had been presented.
Nicodemo has been transferred to a desk position at the state Office of Highway Safety and relieved of his prosecutorial duties.
The state still hasn’t turned over almost 4,000 of those emails.
Hurley claimed that (the) defendant never saw the text (the message from Minato) until years of motion practice and, finally, court involvement.