Norcross Defense Team Unveils Racket Case As ‘Crime Thriller Without Murder’

Attorneys for New Jersey insurance executive and political power broker George Norcross III say the state’s 111-page indictment against him and others for alleged wrongdoing is a “crime thriller without the crime.”

In asking that the charges be dismissed, Norcross’ defense team says the indictment is less like a legal document and “more like a script for a supposed summer blockbuster” as it seeks to change routine politics and day-to-day business negotiations undertaken to revitalize an economic depression. Camden, on the seafront, in offenses of extortion, racketeering, kickbacks and bribery.

“Although the indictment exceeds 100 pages and alleges over a dozen counts, it still fails to properly plead a single crime,” the defense filing claims.

Additionally, according to Norcross’ attorneys, the alleged crimes occurred more than a decade ago and are statute-barred, which his attorneys suggest may be why federal prosecutors have not pursued them.

In June, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin charged Norcross with running a criminal enterprise in the state for the past ten years. Norcross, chief executive of Camden-based insurance agency Conner Strong & Buckelew (CSB) and chairman of Cooper Health’s board of directors, is among six people alleged to have acquired property rights and tax credits in Camden and elsewhere through coercion, extortion, and other criminal acts. Norcross and five alleged associates were charged with racketeering.

Platkin said the 13-count indictment came after a years-long investigation into the activities of Norcross and his associates in South Jersey and elsewhere. The indictment filed in Superior Court alleged that from approximately 2012 to the present, Norcross Enterprise used coercion, extortion and other criminal acts to bend the law to serve its interests, to obtain property and title to the Camden waterfront , to collect up to $240. millions in government-issued tax credits and controls and influences government officials, including a former mayor of Camden.

The defendants include Norcross III, who now lives in Florida; his brother Philip A. Norcross, an attorney and CEO of Parker McCay, a New Jersey law firm; William M. Tambussi, partner at the law firm Brown and Connery and counsel to the Camden County Democratic Committee; Dana L. Redd, currently CEO of Camden Community Partnership and former Mayor of the City of Camden (2010-2018); Sidney R. Brown, CEO of NFI, a transportation and logistics company; and John J. O’Donnell, a director of The Michaels Organization, a residential development company.

Norcross and the co-defendants entered not guilty pleas in July in state Superior Court in Mercer County.

According to the Norcross defense filing, all 13 counts are based on two types of alleged wrongdoing: criminal threats and official misconduct. “But the only alleged ‘threats’ are everyday economic ones…for exampleto cease commercial activity or to breach a contract — which are not prohibited. If it is a crime to warn of “consequences” if no agreement is reached, or to use profanity about it, New Jersey needs to build more prisons. “

As for allegations of “official misconduct,” the indictment alleges that a former Camden mayor “solicited input from stakeholders, supported the city’s revitalization efforts and refused to meet with an out-of-town developer who stood in the way.” . The defense argues that this is normal conduct at the discretion of an elected official. “The prosecution seems offended that some private citizens have close ties to public officials, but that is a feature of democratic self-government – ​​not a bug. And it’s certainly not murder,” the filing continues.

The defense says what the indictment calls illegal threats were just ordinary hard-talk: “The prosecution tells a story of the defendants agitating, scheming, lobbying and networking — all in an effort to push Camden’s Waterfront redevelopment beyond those who would hinder him. But all that arm-twisting and maneuvering is routine in both business and politics. Much of it is constitutionally protected. Nothing is from a distance criminal.”

Defendants argue that the State never alleges that any defendant threatened anyone with violence or blackmail; nor does it allege any corruption of public officials; rather, the indictment alleges that the defendants exerted “economic pressure and political influence.”

Many of the state’s allegations involve efforts by Norcross using the Camden Redevelopment Agency to obtain easements owned by developer Carl Dranoff that limited building heights. Norcross’ attorneys argue that he and his associates exercised normal commercial influence and threats that were not of physical harm or in any way criminal in nature.

“As the indictment itself details, all of Norcross’s alleged ‘threats’ were made in response to Dranoff using proprietary tactics in a trade negotiation. In particular, Dranoff was using his easements to block much of the planned (and highly beneficial) redevelopment until he obtained payment,” the defense filing claims.

Mercer County Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw gave prosecutors until Nov. 22 to respond with notes before a January hearing to assess whether the court should dismiss the charges.

In a press statement, Platkin’s office said the motion to dismiss was pending and the state was “confident” in its allegations and would respond with briefs to the court.

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Fraud