Latest news with #GeorgeNorcross
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge erred by tossing charges against Dem power broker, prosecutors say
The New Jersey Attorney General's Office wants the state's appellate division to reinstate the charges it filed in June against Democratic power broker George Norcross and his allies. (Hal Brown for New Jersey Monitor) New Jersey prosecutors are asking an appeals court to overturn the dismissal of charges against George Norcross and his allies, arguing a Superior Court judge had effectively invented a new legal standard dissonant with existing law to toss charges against the Democratic power broker. Judge Peter Warshaw in February dismissed the charges against Norcross and his co-defendants, finding the indictment against them did not state facts constituting extortion or criminal coercion and failed to prove racketeering and other charges lodged against the alleged criminal enterprise. But prosecutors say in a new filing that Warshaw subjected the indictment to greater scrutiny than the law allows, made determinations that should be left to a jury, and dismissed the case under a standard not used in criminal law. 'Instead, the trial court simply asked whether there was sufficient evidence cited in the Indictment itself, without reviewing the reams of testimony and exhibits the grand jury saw,' prosecutors wrote. News of the filing was first reported by New Jersey Globe. The state in June accused Norcross and others of leveraging threats and their control of Camden government to strongarm a developer into ceding property rights and of coercing the CEO of a Camden nonprofit to use a favored but less advantageous developer before pushing him to resign to make room for a patronage hire. The charges, lodged against a man widely considered the most powerful unelected New Jerseyan, stunned the state's political class but did little to diminish the influence of the power broker. Attorneys for Norcross and others have claimed the prosecution is meant to burnish Attorney General Matt Platkin's image for a future run for political office, criticism they renewed after the case was dismissed. Prosecutors' new filing argues Warshaw made numerous errors in dismissing the case, including by improperly engaging in fact-finding, ruling on limited evidence, creating a new standard to review motions to dismiss on the sufficiency of evidence, and failing to properly apply that standard, among other things. Motions to dismiss filed at such an early stage of a case are limited in their scope and can be based on procedural infirmities like a failure to provide notice, prosecutorial misconduct, or on claims that the law underlying criminal charges is unconstitutional, prosecutors argued. They said dismissals based on the sufficiency of evidence would require the inclusion of evidence outside the four corners of an indictment and could only be granted if the facts contained in the indictment disproved the possibility of a crime, not whether they alone could prove the crime occurred. 'Nothing about the indictment introduces a 'fatal flaw' that more evidence — particularly the evidence that already went to the grand jury — 'necessarily' could not cure,' prosecutors said in their appeal. Warshaw made the ruling without reviewing evidence provided to the grand jury that approved the charges. In their appeal, prosecutors said that evidence included more than 2,000 pages of testimony transcripts, over 6,000 wiretap recordings, and no less than 700 other audio files. An attorney for George Norcross — who was charged alongside former Camden Mayor Dana Redd, NFI CEO Sidney Brown, Michaels Organization CEO John O'Donnell, and attorneys Philip Norcross (George Norcross's brother) and Bill Tambussi — derided the appeal as a continuation of a prosecution the defendants have argued is politically motivated. 'The new filing is another failed legal argument by the Attorney General — the only difference is that this redux version is longer than the original. The fatal legal flaws remain. As has become obvious to everyone, Mr. Platkin's obsession has been a political prosecution from its inception. We look forward to again rebutting his fatuous claims on the merits,' said Michael Critchley, an attorney for George Norcross. Prosecutors argued that Warshaw erred by subjecting the prosecution's 111-page indictment to a greater level of scrutiny than would be placed on a shorter document, noting courts have routinely rejected efforts to hold lengthier, detail-laden indictments to a stricter standard. Even if the judge's legal test was sound, prosecutors said, the dismissal must be overturned because he did not accept as true the indictment's factual allegations or view them in the light most favorable to the state. They pointed to his ruling that alleged threats made by Norcross and others against Philadelphia-based developer Carl Dranoff were 'hard bargaining' and 'sabre-rattling.' 'If a court has questions about what a threat means, or how a victim interprets it, the proper forum is trial testimony, or, at the least, a review of the actual evidence presented to the grand jury,' the appeal says. The judge's determination on the criminality of the alleged threats overstepped into improper fact-finding that ought to be left to a jury, as did his determinations about the intent of some co-defendants, all without a review of the evidence, prosecutors said. Even if the judge's finding that the alleged threats amounted to only hard bargaining were valid, prosecutors said, the indictment's extortion and coercion charges should not have been dismissed because the indictment alleges Norcross and his allies controlled Camden government and used governmental power to pressure Dranoff into concessions. 'While defendants may incorrectly believe that wielding the threat of reputational and governmental harm to extract property or submission from others is permissible activity that 'occurs every day in politics and business' … New Jersey law, like the Hobbs Act, makes clear it is unlawful,' the appeal said. norcross dismissal appeal SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Racketeering charges tossed against New Jersey Democratic power broker George Norcross
A New Jersey judge on Wednesday dismissed the racketeering indictment against Democratic power broker George Norcross, who had been charged with strong-arming political and business leaders to obtain the rights to properties and development on the Camden waterfront. Judge Peter Warshaw decided "the indictment must be dismissed because its factual allegations do not constitute extortion or criminal coercion as a matter of law." The judge also concluded there was "no racketeering enterprise" as alleged. New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, who brought the charges, said the state would immediately appeal. MORE: New Jersey political boss charged "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," Platkin said. Norcross, one of New Jersey's most powerful political figures, had been charged with using his influence to gain access to state-issued tax credits and bullying rivals so he could obtain property rights for a Camden, New Jersey, waterfront development project. Lawyers for Norcross and his co-defendants, including his brother, his attorney and former Camden Mayor Dana Redd, had pleaded not guilty and sought the dismissal granted Wednesday, arguing exercising political influence is no crime. The indictment quoted Norcross allegedly threatening a developer. "George Norcross, in the presence of Philip Norcross, told Developer-1, Iif you f--- this up, I'll f--- you up like you've never been f----- up before. I'll make sure you never do business in this town again,'" the indictment stated. MORE: Trump signs executive action targeting law firm representing former special counsel Jack Smith The indictment also quoted Norcross allegedly recounting the conversation with the developer to a friend. "I had to get on the phone last night with [Developer-1] for an hour and a half. He tried to f------ shake us down. As usual. ... And I told him, 'no' I said '[Developer-1], this is unacceptable. If you do this, it will have enormous consequences.' He said, 'Are you threatening me?' I said 'absolutely.'" The judge decided the threats did not amount to a crime. "Defendants correctly argue that when considering private parties negotiating economic deals in a free market system, threats are sometimes neither wrongful or unlawful," Warshaw wrote. "In these situations, there may be nothing inherently wrong in using economic fear to obtain property. In this context, what does it mean to be told he would be 'f---[ed] up like [he] [has] never been f----- up before' and that he will 'never do business in this town again?' Does it mean anything at all? This sabre-rattling sounds much like 'this town ain't big enough for the two of us.'" Racketeering charges tossed against New Jersey Democratic power broker George Norcross originally appeared on
Washington Post
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Judge dismisses racketeering indictment against New Jersey Democratic power broker, co-defendants
TRENTON, N.J. — A state judge on Wednesday agreed to toss out racketeering charges against New Jersey Democratic power broker George Norcross and those charged alongside him. Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw granted Norcross' and other defendants' motion to dismiss a state grand jury's indictment on racketeering charges brough by Attorney General Matt Platkin.
CBS News
26-02-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
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 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 indictment, as was Norcross' brother Philip. The others charged include William Tambussi, George Norcross' longtime personal attorney, 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 and the Triad1828 Centre. 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.
