Noticias

The head of the embattled state Office of Public Integrity and Accountability is leaving at the end of this week and will be replaced by Assistant Attorney General Eric Gibson, a former federal prosecutor who was brought on eleven months ago to supervise the state’s prosecution of Democratic powerbroker George E. Norcross.

Drew Skinner is bailing with four months left in the Murphy administration after just eighteen months in office – and a string of significant losses.  He has not publicly announced his next job.

Gibson now takes the helm in what will likely be a short-term gig.  The winner of the upcoming governor’s race could dismantle and reconstitute the beleaguered office, which has faced criticism for grievous mistakes, allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, and questions about its ability to bring major cases to trial and secure convictions.

A former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Gibson was brought in last October to supervise the Norcross prosecution.  Four months later, Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw dismissed the charges in the 112-page indictment against Norcross and others.

Gibson was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in February 2022, but did not take the bar exam.

Skinner replaced Thomas Eicher, who formed the office in 2018 and retired in March 2024.

Harsh criticisms of the OPIA – along with Eicher, deputy director Anthony Picione, and the number three lawyer, Peter W. Lee, also departed – Platkin went outside the OPIA structure to recruit Skinner, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Skinner had spent nearly nine years as a federal prosecutor and was co-chief of the Violent and Organized Crime Unit.  He previously served in the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force.

“I am excited that Eric Gibson, a longtime career corruption prosecutor at the state and federal level, will take over OPIA’s leadership,” said Attorney General Matt Platkin.  “Eric has shown he will lead with the independence, fortitude, and discipline necessary to tackle corruption in New Jersey and to continue the office’s growth.”

Gibson spent eleven years as an Assistant Philadelphia District Attorney and nearly seventeen years with the Department of Justice, where he spent six years as the deputy chief of the Corruption and Civil Rights section.

He successfully prosecuted former Rep. Ozzie Myers, who had gone to prison in the 1980s after his conviction in the Abscam trial, on election fraud charges.  Myers admitted his role in a ballot-stuffing scheme and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.   He won a conviction against a Philadelphia congressman, Chaka Fattah, on corruption charges, and against Philadelphia Democratic political consultant Kenneth Smukler on federal campaign finance violations.

In 2022, Gibson prosecuted Philadelphia City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson on bribery charges. Defense attorneys accused the government of prosecutorial overreach and argued that Gibson’s case lacked evidence, was based on inference, and “cherry-picked” facts to fit their narrative.  Jurors deliberated for less than four hours before acquitting Johnson.

He left the U.S. Attorney’s office two months later and began a two-year stint as chair of the Internal Investigations and White Collar Defense practice at Post & Schell, a Philadelphia law firm.

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U.S. Senator Andy Kim is launching a leadership training program to prepare the next generation of civic and political leaders in New Jersey.

“There’s a hunger for a new generation of leaders to step up,” said Kim.  “This training will help make sure we’re growing a grassroots movement that’ll build a new era of politics for New Jersey and create the change we need and deserve.”

Using his campaign committee, Kim is opening the program to individuals of all backgrounds and is designed as a practical introduction to the fundamentals of running effective campaigns.  Participants will gain hands-on experience working with veteran campaign leaders and will develop key skills in organizing, finance, digital, communications, and operations.

Participants will get a Certificate in Political Leadership from Kim after they complete their training and capstone project.

The deadline to submit an application is Sunday, September 21, at 5 PM.  Click HERE to obtain an application.

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The Appellate Division of the New Jersey Courts agreed this morning to hear an appeal in the Roselle Borough Council matter, ordering Union County election officials to hold off printing ballots until after they decide.

The appellate court’s move to take up a challenge initiated by Denise Wilkerson came early this morning and is working with an incredibly short runway, as Vote-by-Mail ballots are due to go in the mail on Saturday.   The courts asked briefs to be filed by 3 PM today and have given the Union County Board of Elections until 10 AM tomorrow to respond.

That could mean a decision as early as tomorrow.  The appellate court put one of its best judges, Jack Sabatino, on the case.

Sabatino, in his 8:30 AM order, limited briefs to ten pages, double-spaced, and will not accept reply submissions.

Wilkerson attempted to file her appeal on Friday afternoon, minutes after Superior Court Judge John Deitch retreated from his own ruling calling for a new Democratic primary and instead ordered the Roselle Democratic County Committee to select a nominee by Sunday.  But the appellate division was closed – Deitch waited over an hour to file his opinion (he had previously handed a written opinion to one, but not all, parties) until after the court shut down for the weekend.

The appellate court ghosted Wilkerson until this morning.

In a 20-7 vote, Roselle Democrats picked Cynthia Johnson, who lost the primary to Wilkerson by two votes, as the general election candidate.

Deitch took over three months to handle the election matter.

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