Former Democratic Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey pardoned a major Democratic donor’s same on the very same day a jury convicted him of fleeing the scene of a fatal hit-and-run – when Murphy had just hours left in office.
The donor pardon sparked huge outrage from prosecutors who called the move a clear sign of political corruption.
Harris Jacobs, 28, was found guilty Tuesday of second-degree knowingly leaving the scene of a fatal motor vehicle accident in the death of 76-year-old Orlando Fraga in Atlantic City.
The pardon from Murphy came before the verdict was even delivered, according to Jacobs’ attorney Lou Barbone.
“My client received a call from governor’s counsel at 7:30 a.m.,” Barbone said. “The pardon was issued but not in our possession. We know it was issued before the verdict.”
The conviction would have sent Jacobs to prison for five to ten years. Murphy announced the pardon as one of 97 he granted in his final hours in office on Tuesday, January 20, just before Democratic Governor Mikie Sherrill was sworn in at noon.
Jacobs is the son of Joe Jacobs, an Atlantic City attorney, power broker, and major Democratic fundraiser who has longstanding ties to Murphy and his wife Tammy Murphy. The elder Jacobs reportedly raised more than $100,000 for Tammy Murphy’s failed 2024 Senate campaign at a single fundraiser.
The fatal incident occurred at approximately 3:35 a.m. on September 4, 2022, outside the Dunkin’ Donuts at Atlantic and Indiana Avenues in Atlantic City. Jacobs was driving a 2016 Toyota 4Runner along the 1800 block of Atlantic Avenue when he struck and killed Fraga. Surveillance video showed Jacobs getting out of his vehicle and walking to Fraga and leaning over his body on two separate occasions.
He then returned to his vehicle and drove away without calling police. Fraga was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to testimony, Jacobs spoke to his father ten times after the crash but never called 911 to summon help for Fraga. Seven hours after the accident, Jacobs was arrested and charged with one count of second-degree knowingly leaving the scene of a fatal motor vehicle accident.
Jacobs’ initial trial in May 2025 ended in a hung jury. The retrial took place in January 2026 and concluded with a conviction on Tuesday.
The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office condemned Muphy’s pardon for his donor pal.
“It must not be overlooked that the defendant’s conduct resulted in the death of an elderly gentleman who leaves behind a grieving family,” a spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office said. “This case was thoroughly investigated and prosecuted by the dedicated men and women of the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, who brought this defendant to justice today.”
“Unfortunately, when politics pervades justice, the rule of law becomes subordinate to influence and power,” the statement said. “Justice must be blind to status, relationships, power, and expediency; when it is not, the community loses faith in the very system meant to protect it.”
Murphy also commuted the sentence of Mordechai Berkowitz, 24, who pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide after killing a 44-year-old woman in Lakewood in 2022 while driving over 90 mph in a 35-mph zone with a blood alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit. A judge sentenced him in December to six years using the No Early Release Act.
Berkowitz’ attorney is close to Murphy, and was once considered for a role as his attorney general.
Murphy’s pardons also included Al Coutinho, a Democrat and former Essex County assemblyman who was convicted in 2013 of stealing money from his family’s charitable foundation.