The New Jersey attorney general on Monday charged a major Democratic political boss, George E. Norcross III, with racketeering, a stunning development for an influential insurance broker who built a “South Jersey machine” despite never being elected to office.
State Attorney General Matt Platkin secured the 13-count indictment alleging Mr. Norcross ran a criminal enterprise that used coercion to secure property rights in Camden, New Jersey, and tax breaks for Norcross-allied companies.
The indictment says Mr. Norcross used the criminal enterprise to “extort others through threats and fear of economic and reputational harm and commit other criminal offenses to achieve the enterprise’s goals.”
Officials allege Mr. Norcross used state officials to further the enterprise for more than a decade.
“In short, this indictment alleges that a group of unelected private businessman used their power and influence to get government at the state and local levels to aid their criminal enterprise and further its interests,” Mr. Platkin said at a news conference in Trenton, the state capital. “Through their alleged acts, the Norcross enterprise was able to attain the rights to build multiple buildings and obtains hundreds of millions of dollars in government-issued tax credits, among other benefits.”
Mr. Norcross, whose brother Donald Norcross represents New Jersey in the U.S. House, has wielded outsized influence over South Jersey politics for decades. He’s faced previous investigations, though no charges, making the indictment on Monday a major development for the state.
As if to underscore his sway, Mr. Norcross, 68, took a front seat at the press conference announcing his indictment. The odd scene forced Mr. Platkin to outline the charges with Mr. Norcross, dressed in a dark suit with neatly combed white hair, sitting mere feet away.
Asked about the awkward situation, Mr. Platkin declined to comment.
Outside the building, Mr. Norcross called Mr. Platkin a “coward.”
Mr. Norcross’ lawyer, Michael Critchley, said the case amounted to a political vendetta.
“What they did is they relied on some political adversaries,” Mr. Critchley said, adding it “resulted in this tortured and unfair prosecution.”
Also indicted are Mr. Norcross’ brother Philip Norcross, a lobbyist; his longtime lawyer, Bill Tambussi; former Camden Mayor Dana Redd; Sidney Brown, CFO of trucking company NFI; and John O’Donnell, head of the residential development company The Michaels Organization.
Even before the indictment, New Jersey struggled to shake its reputation for pay-to-play politics.
Sen. Robert Menendez, New Jersey Democrat, is facing trial on charges he accepted bribes to help the government of Egypt and other individuals as chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
Mr. Norcross is a former member of the Democratic National Committee, former chair of the Camden County Democratic Committee and is chair of the board of trustees of Cooper University Health Care.
He’s also executive chair of the insurance firm Conner Strong & Buckelew, or “CSB.”
The indictment alleges that Mr. Norcross and associates used their political influence to influence economic development legislation in Camden to their liking in September 2013.
They’re accused of using coercion and direct threats to secure property rights for entities such as Cooper Health and CSB and to secure the rights to millions worth of tax credits, which they later sold off.
When one developer would not relinquish his rights on terms preferred by Mr. Norcross, “he threatened the developer that he would, in substance and in part, ’f—- you up like you’ve never been f——- up before,’ and told the developer he would make sure the developer never did business in Camden again,” the indictment says.
The indictment also says Mr. Norcross and his allies tried to shape the boards of nonprofits to their liking and threatened to harm the reputations of those who stood in their way.
Underscoring the bruising nature of state politics, one reporter asked Mr. Platkin if the unsolved murders of John Sheridan, a Norcross ally and former New Jersey transportation commissioner, and his wife in 2014 were somehow related to the conspiracy alleged in the indictment.
“I don’t have any update on any unrelated case,” Mr. Platkin said. “Unfortunately, nothing more to add there.”
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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