No-Show Nick Scutari wants to ‘put down’ watchdogs that combat corruption

As Americans are expressing outrage over Republican President Donald Trump’s attempt to illegally fire inspectors general, New Jersey Senate President Nicholas ‘No-Show Nick’ Scutari wants fewer government watchdog agencies in New Jersey.

Scutari contends there’s too much oversight for government despite a former U.S. senator sentenced to 11 years in prison for his federal crimes and other local, state, and federal officials frequently finding their names in indictments.

“I think what we have is a lot of watchdogs, a lot of them. We have ELEC, SCI, we have comptroller, the Attorney General’s Office, we have county prosecutors,” he said. “One of these days we’re going to have to look at consolidation of those efforts.”

New Jersey’s acting state comptroller, Acting State Comptroller Kevin D. Walsh has been under fire since the spring from politicians piqued after becoming targets of his watchdog investigations, is battling two new court fights.

Scutari has faced scrutiny over his legally questionable no-show job as Linden’s municipal prosecutor, potential conflicts of interest, and what some perceive as an abusive gag order placed on his ex-wife.

Despite these allegations, Scutari has not faced any significant penalties or exposure, even as he continues to wield considerable power in the state Senate.

“Putting down” a dog is a humane and painless way for ending a dog’s life, but scraping New Jersey’s government watchdog agencies would reinvigorate the already corrupt political system.

A group of progressive Democrats who demanded that he be removed as chair of the New Jersey State Senate Judiciary Committeebut they have been conspicuously quiet since Scutari became. Senate President.

Instead, Scutari has risen to the position of one of the most influential roles in New Jersey politics, after his behavior raised alarms among critics, who see his actions as part of a broader pattern of avoiding accountability.

This includes allegations of absenteeism while serving as the town’s prosecutor, where he allegedly failed to show up for court appearances, costing the city hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars.

In addition to these concerns, Scutari’s ex-wife, Karolina Dehnhard, has been subjected to a gag order, which some believe is meant to silence her as she speaks out on behalf of women across the state.

Dehnhard said she is prohibited from discussing their five-year marriage in her 2005 divorce by a confidentiality agreement.

While Scutari has denied any wrongdoing, his continued rise in New Jersey politics raises questions about the lack of transparency and consequences in the state’s political system.

The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission dismissed 107 cases, including complaints against the Democratic State Committee, Senate Democrat Majority, and the Assembly Campaign Committee—which failed to properly report nearly $900,000 in donations and more than $1 million in spending in 2017. The Republican State Committee got away without reporting $15,000 in donations that year.

That was almost half of the election watchdog’s active investigations into reported campaign finance violations, four months after legislators passed a controversial overhaul of campaign finance law sponsored by Scutari that critics warned would weaken election protections, open the floodgates for outside groups, lets super PACs keep their donors secret.

In essence, the new Elections Transparency Act allows traditional super PACs that had previously disclosed donors and spending with regularity the option to register as independent expenditure groups — limiting their disclosures about advertising to 11 days before a primary election and 20 days after it.

Aaron McKean, senior legal counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, said voters should know who’s funding the ads they’re seeing well before the election, not just days before it or weeks after.

In a solidly Democratic district, Scutari ran unopposed in the 2017, 2021, and 2023 primary elections.

“The key reason that reporting like this is important is so that voters have information to make decisions when they’re evaluating their choices on the ballot, and failing to put in meaningful disclosure means voters don’t get that information,” McKean said. “It’s not useful to a voter to find out 20 days after an election who was funding all those ads.”

Now, in a move that many view as an attempt to deflect further scrutiny, Scutari is advocating for the consolidation of several state watchdog agencies, including the Office of the State Comptroller.

He suggests that merging these agencies could reduce redundancy, but many see it as a strategic effort to limit the chances of his own misconduct being exposed.

Scutari’s comments came after the resignation of Tiffany Williams Brewer, head of the State Commission of Investigation, following revelations that she had been living out of state and working another full-time job.

While Scutari criticized the resignation, he also seized on the opportunity to call for a consolidation of agencies, a move that could potentially weaken oversight and accountability in the state government.

Critics argue that Scutari’s push to reduce the power of watchdogs is an attempt to shield himself and other powerful figures from future scrutiny. By consolidating agencies tasked with oversight, they claim, Scutari could limit the ability of the state to hold public officials accountable for corruption or misconduct.

Despite the growing concerns about his actions and the lack of meaningful consequences, Scutari remains one of the most influential figures in New Jersey politics, with little sign that his behavior will be subject to significant scrutiny or penalties. His proposed reforms to New Jersey’s oversight system appear to be a calculated move to further entrench the political establishment and protect himself from future exposure.