BELVIDERE, N.J. - One prosecutor is out, another one is in, and there are still lots of questions surrounding all of the changes in Warren County, New Jersey.
69 News was the first to tell you about the misconduct investigation report released Monday night. Now, we have exclusive new details, as the former prosecutor says he’s exploring his own legal options.
Twenty-two formal interviews led to a 22-page report, which was released after a years-long investigation by the New Jersey Attorney General's Office.
A special investigator accuses the Warren County Prosecutor's Office of misusing specific funding: grants meant for insurance fraud cases. The report alleges the office inadequately kept records to get more grant money to pay salaries of employees who weren't working on those cases.
It says, "While this evidence may not be sufficient to support a finding that the Prosecutor willfully misappropriated these funds, it does support a finding that the Prosecutor and his staff did not appropriately manage" the grant.
The report goes on to accuse former prosecutor Jim Pfeiffer of failing to cooperate with the investigation.
Now, he's sharing his side of the story with 69 News, dismissing those allegations as false.
Pfeiffer tells us grant money in the form of a reimbursement for time spent on a case is not directly earmarked for any specific purpose, adding he has no involvement in how the money is used, since it's allocated by the county CFO.
He went onto say the record keeping procedures were implemented by previous prosecutors; in regard to the investigation, he sought and followed advice of County Counsel.
Pfeiffer said, "What is extremely troubling to me and should be to the public is the fact Mr. Picione was chosen to take my position. Mr. Picione was the Deputy Director and second in command of OPIA which is the agency investigating my office."
He claims Anthony Picione will now get a big bump in pay and benefits, calling it a blatant conflict of interest.
Pfeiffer tells us he still hasn't been provided a full copy of the report with the references attached and that once he does, he'll discuss this all further.
The AG's Office said no one was available for an interview Tuesday.
Warren County sent us a statement, saying it had no clue the state was taking over the prosecutor's office.
It went on to note Pfeiffer was appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy in 2019 and that the county has no formal role in selecting or supervising the prosecutor.
