Still a mystery: why did attorney general’s office allow Matt O’Donnell to continue practicing law?

While he was the state’s cooperating witness in a corruption sting operation that snagged five itsy-bitsy local politicians, Matt O’Donnell continued to operate a boutique Morristown tax appeal law firm that billed millions to municipal and county government entities even though state prosecutors knew he had committed multiple crimes.

The attorney general’s office became aware of O’Donnell’s criminal activities in late 2016 and entered into a plea agreement with him in 2018, heavily redacted records show.  Still, they allowed O’Donnell to continue practicing law, billing towns and counties– and based on admissions made in court by Deputy Attorney General Eric Cohen – nobody was keeping track of how much he was making.

Somewhere along the way, someone appears to have dropped the ball on whether to report O’Donnell to the Office of Attorney Ethics, which safeguards the community from shady lawyers.  It’s not clear if that was deliberate.

In New Jersey, attorneys are required to immediately report the illegal activities of other attorneys, according to Glenn R. Reiser, a Hackensack lawyer specializing in attorney ethics issues.

“Once you know an attorney has committed a crime, you can’t stop that boulder from going down the hill,” Reiser said.

The obligation to report on O’Donnell is expanded if his activities created imminent harm to the public.

A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office declined to say if the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, which is prosecuting O’Donnell, notified the Office of Attorney Ethics (OAG).

The Office of the Attorney Ethics became aware of O’Donnell’s alleged crimes no later than 2019, Charles Centinaro, then the OAG director, confirmed that to the New Jersey Globe in early 2020,  but didn’t move to suspend him until he appeared before a judge in October 2021 to admit that he had used straw donors to obtain public contracts.

“You can certainly make the argument that the attorney general’s office had a responsibility to report this to the Office of Attorney Ethics,” said Reiser.

In at least one instance, O’Donnell appeared in court representing the state after he had signed a plea agreement.

Others knew that O’Donnell had entered into a plea agreement admitting illegal acts, including several Superior Court judges who were hearing cases involving others charged in the sting operation, but it’s not clear if they reported him to the OAG.

“A judge also has the obligation to report an ethics violation,” Reiser said.  “There must be more to this than meets the eye, but it’s concerning.”

Centinaro spent several years deftly side-stepping questions about O’Donnell.  He was fired last year after his own ethics issue: he failed to report a sexual relationship with one of his employees.  Other than losing his job, the records show that Centinaro remains an attorney in good standing.

The new OAG director, Johanna Barba Jones, did not respond to two calls seeking comment.  A judiciary spokesperson said there would be no comment on the matter.

Whether a whistleblower, Seth Davenport, a tax appeal attorney and former municipal court judge, reported O’Donnell to the OAG is unclear.  Davenport died in early 2021.

Prosecutors acknowledged at O’Donnell’s 2021 plea hearing that the now-suspended attorney committed additional crimes while he was the state’s cooperating witness.  To protect their sting operation, court records show that the attorney general’s office permitted O’Donnell to increase his illegal gains during the investigation.

John Nicodemo, a controversial deputy attorney general, confirmed the existence of O’Donnell’s plea agreement in February 2021 during an appearance before Superior Court Judge Mitzi Galis-Menendez in Jersey City.

Over the strenuous objection of the attorney general’s office, Superior Court Peter Tober ordered that a list of crimes committed by O’Donnell beyond those revealed in his plea agreement be supplied to an attorney representing former Jersey City Board of Education President Sudhan Thomas,  a defending in a corruption case after O’Donnell allegedly wore a wire and offered him a bribe.

The O’Donnell case is potentially uncomfortable for the judiciary.

Investigatory notes included in filings by the attorney general’s office alleged that O’Donnell and his firm, O’Donnell McCord, engaged in corrupt acts, including overbilling and the use of straw donors to obtain public contracts as early as 2009, before one of its managing partners’ departure to become a Superior Court judge.

While O’Donnell and the firm itself and another former partner, Elizabeth Valandingham, and several of the straw donors connected to the firm, have entered guilty pleas, nothing in the court record indicates that the judge had any knowledge of these activities.

Still, spokespersons for the attorney general’s office and the judge declined to say if he was ever interviewed by investigators probing O’Donnell and his firm.  The attorney general’s office would not say if they shared their investigation of illegal activities with the New Jersey State Police while conducting background checks on the judge before his renomination to a tenured term or with the Senate Judiciary Committee.  And the judge, through a spokesperson, would not say if he was aware of the methods O’Donnell and Valandingham were using to secure public contracts or if he had reviewed his firm’s billing records while serving as managing partner.

There was also no comment on why some O’Donnell-related criminal cases originally assigned to the Morris County vicinage where transferred to Somerset.

Neither the Department of Law and Public Safety nor the New Jersey Judiciary have independent inspector generals to provide oversight.

While the state maintains they don’t have records of O’Donnell’s billing records, that might not be entirely true.  Before his death, Davenport had sent billing records from the O’Donnell firm dating back to 2016 obtained through public records requests to, the attorney general’s office.   The attorney general’s office obtained some records under subpoena.

Holmdel Township has filed a civil suit against O’Donnell, alleging that he overbilled taxpayers while helping prosecutors with a sting operation.

From New Jersey’s Rules of Court:  “If a grievance alleges facts that, if true, would constitute unethical conduct and if those facts are substantially similar to the material allegations of pending civil or criminal litigation, the grievance shall be docketed and investigated if, in the opinion of the secretary or Director, the facts alleged clearly demonstrate provable ethical violations or if the facts alleged present a substantial threat of imminent harm to the public. All other grievances involving such related pending civil and criminal litigation may be declined and not docketed. If the matter has already been docketed when the related pending litigation is discovered, the matter may be administratively dismissed, provided the matter is still in the investigative stage.  The grievant shall be informed in writing of any decision, together with a brief statement of the reasons therefor and a copy of any Court Rule or written guideline supporting declination. Once a formal complaint has been filed, the matter shall not be dismissed nor held in abeyance pending completion of the related litigation, unless so authorized by the Director.  Whenever an attorney is a defendant in any criminal proceeding, the Director shall docket the matter and may, in the Director’s discretion, investigate and prosecute the disciplinary case.”