Attorney General folds anti-corruption office into Criminal Justice after high-profile losses

Attorney General Jennifer Davenport is abolishing the standalone Office of Public Integrity and Accountability created in 2018, moving its work into a restructured Division of Criminal Justice following courtroom setbacks including the Norcross case collapse.

TRENTON — New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport is abolishing the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) as a freestanding unit and folding its responsibilities into a restructured Division of Criminal Justice, according to statements the Attorney General’s office provided to news organizations in early September 2026.

OPIA was created in September 2018 under then-Attorney General Gurbir Grewal during the Murphy administration as a standalone office focused on public corruption and, later, certain police-involved deaths. Secondary reporting on the reorganization places the effective date in the second week of September 2026, with accounts differing slightly (Tuesday, Sept. 8, versus a Sept. 13 date listed by an internal justice-data calendar). Jersey Intel has not obtained an AG org memo confirming the exact cease-operations date.

Official rationale

In a statement quoted by Gothamist, Davenport said: “Our office is committed to pursuing justice whether we are prosecuting people who commit violent crime, defraud vulnerable members of society, abuse their positions of public trust, or exploit our children. The restructuring of our criminal prosecution program will allow us to more efficiently and effectively deploy resources, share information and expertise, and collaborate across units.”

According to the AG’s office as reported:

• The Division of Criminal Justice will have six deputy directors, each overseeing multiple units.
• The corruption unit will be overseen by Rebecca Schuman, who had directed OPIA’s corruption arm since June and previously served as a federal prosecutor, including in DOJ’s Public Integrity Section.
• Responsibility for fatal police-encounter investigations — added to OPIA’s portfolio in 2019 — will report to Andrew Wellbrock, who has worked in the AG’s office since 2021.

Secondary accounts also report Martha Nye named interim DCJ director and describe OPIA’s bureaus (Corruption, Integrity, Special Investigations, Conviction Review) moving into DCJ. Those personnel and bureau-move details remain secondary-only; Jersey Intel has not confirmed them against an official AG org chart.

Context (attributed, not invented)

News coverage links the reorganization to years of criticism and courtroom defeats, including dismissal of the prosecution of South Jersey political figure George E. Norcross III and other cases involving discovery or management problems. Those case outcomes are matters of public court record and are not re-litigated here. Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Senate President Nick Scutari declined comment to Gothamist on the reorganization announcement.