Former Chief Of Staff To NJ Sen. Leader Pleads Guilty To Fraud Charges

UNION COUNTY - New Jersey Senate President Nick Scutari’s former chief of staff admitted Monday to his role in a conspiracy that involved manipulating invoices for several campaigns, political action committees and 501(c)(4) organizations, which resulted in him pocketing some of the proceeds, federal officials said.

Antonio “Tony” Teixeira, 43, of Elizabeth, a longtime player in Union County politics, pleaded guilty to tax evasion and conspiracy to commit wire fraud before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said in a Monday statement.

Teixeira now faces a sentence upwards of 20 years, federal officials said. Sentencing is scheduled for March 27, 2023.

Teixeira conspired with Sean Caddle -a former Hudson County political consultant - as well as Caddle’s political consulting firms, to overcharge various campaigns, political action committees, and other organizations of $107,800 between 2014 and 2018, according to documents filed in the case and statements made in court. Teixeira also never reported this income on tax forms that he filed with the IRS during those same years, Sellinger said.

Teixeira and Caddle also conspired to manipulate the invoices that Caddle’s consulting firms submitted to the campaigns, PACs and 501(c)(4)s with illegitimate campaign-related expenses, Sellinger said, adding that Caddle and Teixeira had padded the invoices and split the difference between Caddle’s actual campaign expenses.

Caddle then paid a portion of Teixeira’s cut to him in cash and funneled the rest via checks made out to Teixeira’s relatives to hide the paper trail, Sellinger said. In total, Teixeira reportedly received more than $100,000 in the scheme.

Teixeira resigned from his position last month, according to a statement from Scutari's office. Tim Lydon is on tap to serve as Scutari’s acting chief of staff, the official added. Teixeira also stepped down from positions at the Elizabeth Democratic Party and Union County Board of Elections, according to Politico New Jersey.

“I am glad Tony is accepting responsibility for his personal financial actions,” the Senate president said last month. "Whether you are in elected office or serving as a member of staff, residents deserve the highest of standards and public officials beyond reproach.”

Teixeira was reportedly listed in a 2021 subpoena from the state Attorney General’s Office seeking information regarding payments from Caddle, who has separately been linked to the center of a murder-for-hire scheme that resulted in the 2014 death of a Jersey City man. Read more: Murder For Hire: Hamburg Man Pleads Guilty, U.S. Attorney Says

Caddle worked as a consultant and aide to former N.J. state Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Westfield), Politico reported, while Teixeira was the chief of staff to the same official. Court documents did not name the person who was killed, but Politico reported that the details of the case matched the circumstances surrounding the death of Michael Galdieri, who worked with Caddle’s consulting firm Arkady.

Galdieri was the son of another former state senator, James Galdieri (D-Jersey City).

NorthJersey.com reported the state demanded intel regarding around $50,000 in payments from Caddle and his consulting firm to Teixeira and his wife from 2015 and 2017. Caddle reportedly told the same publication that Teixeira was not employed by Arkady, but that he was paid by Caddle.

Teixeira “unquestionably endured his share of hardships, and while he has served the public in many admirable capacities and is a friend, nonetheless he erred and I acknowledge that,” Scutari added in his statement.