There’s now a third allegation that embattled Deputy Attorney General John Nicodemo deliberately withheld evidence from a grand jury while seeking an indictment, creating a disturbing pattern of potential prosecutorial misconduct and possibly illegal behavior by a man with a badge.
Attorney Lee Vartan wants an indictment against a prominent Lakewood Rabbi, Osher Eisemann, dismissed after Superior Court Judge John Paone determined that Nicodemo had committed a Brady violation by intentionally withholding exculpatory evidence that eventually voided his conviction.
Vartan alleges in court filings this week that Nicodemo had created a document in February 2018 – two months before he convened a second grand jury – showing that he had information that was never turned over before Eisemann’s trial.
“What is happening here is clear, “Vartan said. “The State’s case is dead, and rather than admit defeat, the State is instinctively fighting on—continuing its 7-year-long harassment campaign against an innocent man.”
In new court filings, Vartan, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, stated that there is “clear evidence that the state intentionally withheld exculpatory information from the defense.”
In two prosecutions involving charter school officials, attorneys have also alleged that Nicodemo misrepresented statutes and lied to a grand jury.
Vincent Sarubbi, who served as Camden County Prosecutor under three governors, claims that Nicodemo “overtly misrepresented” a statute to indict Peter Caporilli, the founder of a charter school.
The accusations against Nicodemo mirror those made last week by William J. Hughes, Jr., a former Assistant U.S. Attorney representing Caporilli’s co-defendant, Michael Falkowski.
Nicodemo also failed to seal a list of potential government targets in a small fish corruption sting operation, forcing a quickie court hearing to seal the documents retroactively.
He no longer works as a line prosecutor and has been assigned an administrative desk job as a diversity officer for the Division of Criminal Justice.
Still, despite multiple allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, Nicodemo has had twelve raises in the last six years. His salary jumped from $74,508 in 2017 to $145,053, a 94.7% increase. That includes two in 2020, two in 2021, three in 2022, and two in 2023, according to records released by the attorney general’s office.