George E. Norcross III — File photo/Courtesy: Aaron Houston
(Editor’s note: This story was updated Thursday, Feb. 27, with additional information from attorneys involved in the case.)
By Joshua Burd
A judge has dismissed the state’s racketeering case against political power broker George Norcross and other key figures in South Jersey, one that stemmed largely from a series of land deals and well-known development projects along Camden’s waterfront.
In a ruling Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw granted a motion to toss out the 13-count indictment announced last spring by Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, writing that “its factual allegations do not constitute extortion or criminal coercion as a matter of law” and concluding “that there is no racketeering enterprise.” The ruling applies to Norcross and his codefendants — attorneys Philip A. Norcross and William M. Tambussi, former Camden Mayor Dana L. Redd and CEOs Sidney R. Brown and John J. O’Donnell of NFI and The Michaels Organization, respectively — who were tied to what prosecutors argued was a pattern of extortion, intimidation and political pressure for pursuits such as developing a 375,000-square-foot office tower for companies led by George Norcross, Brown and O’Donnell.
Published reports say Platkin’s office will appeal the decision.
“We disagree strongly with the trial court’s decision, and we are appealing immediately,” Platkin said, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. “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.”
The case centers on more than a decade of economic development activity around the Camden waterfront, which Norcross has famously championed as a business leader and philanthropist, with prosecutors alleging that he and his allies secured property, property rights and lucrative state tax credits in the city for their own personal gain. But the defendants maintained their innocence and argued that their efforts were for the benefit of Camden and Cooper University Health Care, an anchor institution that’s been a driving force of economic development in the city.
George Norcross is executive chairman of Conner, Strong & Buckelew, board chairman for Cooper Health and the former longtime chair of the Camden County Democratic Committee. Phil Norcross, his brother, is the managing shareholder and CEO of Parker McCay PA as well as a Cooper Health board member and chair of the Cooper Foundation, while Tambussi is a partner at Brown and Connery LLP who is the longtime personal attorney to George Norcross and counsel to several organizations with ties to Camden and the Norcross family.
Attorneys for each defendant declared victory on Wednesday, speaking during a Zoom call where they also launched a lengthy, scathing attack on Platkin and his political ambitions.
“I want to begin by asking why Matt Platkin, who was so eager to hold a press conference when issuing a politically motivated sham indictment, has refused to meet the press today, now that a judge has ruled that everything he alleged is entirely without merit,” said Michael Critchley, George Norcross’ attorney, according to a prepared copy of his remarks. “New Jerseyans deserve to hear Mr. Platkin explain himself after this stunning rebuke from the court.
“The truth of the matter is that Mr. Platkin took the storied reputation of the New Jersey Attorney General’s office and trashed it. This politically motivated indictment will go down in history as an epic failure and a blot on the fine reputation of the line prosecutors whom Mr. Platkin forced to do his dirty work. As any lawyer worth his salt could tell you, Mr. Platkin was wrong on the law, which is why two other law enforcement agencies in two states looked at the facts of this case and passed.
“They know — and we know — that this indictment was a sham,” Critchley continued. “But Mr. Platkin, with his scant legal experience, was never focused on justice. He was focused on his political career — on what’s next, and best, for him.”
