George Norcross' racketeering indictment dismissed as New Jersey's top prosecutor vows to appeal
Democratic power broker George Norcross has been granted a motion to dismiss the New Jersey Attorney General's indictment against him and all other defendants on racketeering and extortion charges after a judge's ruling Wednesday.
Norcross, the chairman of the board of trustees at Cooper Health and the executive chairman of insurance firm Conner, Strong and Buckelew, was accused of controlling property deals along the Camden waterfront to collect millions of dollars in tax credits.
The former Camden Mayor Dana Redd was also charged in the grand jury indictment, as was Norcross' brother Philip. The others charged include George Norcross' longtime personal attorney William Tambussi, former Cooper Health trustee Sidney R. Brown, and developer John J. O'Donnell.
Brown and O'Donnell were partners in the groups owning various Camden buildings including the Ferry Terminal Building, the 11 Cooper apartment building and the Triad1828 Centre.
The defendants were accused of using their power over government officials to craft legislation that would serve their personal interests. As mayor and as CEO of the Camden County Partnership, Redd was accused of using the Camden city government to help Norcross and associates obtain properties and certain property rights.
One allegation was that in 2016, Norcross was trying to build an office tower at a height that would conflict with another developer's view easement (a building that had a right to a waterfront view). When the developer did not want to give up the easement, Norcross allegedly told them on a conference call "If you f--k this up, I'll f--k you up like you've never been f--ked up before. I'll make sure you never do business in this town again."
After that, Redd started ducking the developer's calls due to an "edict" from Philip Norcross, the indictment alleged.
Redd's attorney previously told CBS News Philadelphia that she fully cooperated with the grand jury investigation and looked forward to fighting false allegations against her.
Norcross pleaded not guilty to all counts in a July 2024 court appearance.
Judge explains why he is dismissing George Norcross indictment
Judge Peter Warshaw said the factual allegations from state prosecutors do not constitute extortion or criminal coercion.
The judge acknowledged that while Norcross may have made threats he was accused of making — to withdraw business or stop doing business, or tell associates to stop doing business with some people — those threats did not necessarily comprise a crime.
The judge framed the conference call over the office tower as "a steel cage brawl between two heavyweights, both accompanied at times by at least one lawyer. Neither seems to like or trust the other. Each is trying to prevail in the negotiations and there is substantial money at stake. Beyond that, power and control along the waterfront is in play."
"Does it mean anything at all? This sabre-rattling sounds much like 'this town ain't big enough for the two of us,'" the judge added.
He added that the court is "not called upon to consider whether the redevelopment could have proceeded in a better, more fair, less political way. The court is asked to evaluate whether this 'threat' was criminal."
New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said his office will be "appealing immediately." Here's his full statement:
"We disagree strongly with the trial court's decision, and we are appealing immediately. After years in which the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently cut back on federal public corruption law, and at a time in which the federal government is refusing to tackle corruption, it has never been more important for state officials to take corruption head on. But I have never promised that these cases would be easy, because too many have come to view corruption as simply the way the powerful do business in New Jersey. That corruption has consequences: it breeds a loss of trust in government and in our public servants, at a time when we must work to protect and restore faith in our institutions. Today is a reminder of how much work remains, and how difficult it will be to clean up government in our state. But along with the career law enforcement officers and prosecutors who have worked on this case for years, I won't back down from that fight."
This is a developing story and will be updated.
