Indictment against South Jersey powerbroker George Norcross tossed again on appeal

A New Jersey appellate court panel Friday affirmed a lower court’s decision to toss out criminal conspiracy charges against South Jersey Democratic boss George Norcross and five associates, including former Camden Mayor Dana Redd.

The three-judge panel explained its unanimous decision in a 92-page opinion that argued that the state’s June 2024 indictment was flawed across the board, on both legal and procedural grounds.

On some of the counts prosecutors had lodged, the panel found they had failed to define specific crimes by the Norcross cohort adequately. Other counts alleging criminal acts dating back more than a decade fell outside the statute of limitations and should not have been brought, they said.

The state has 45 days to decide whether to appeal the case to the New Jersey Supreme Court. That decision will be made by Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, who took the job just last week under new Gov. Mikie Sherrill. Davenport’s office said Friday that it is reviewing the appellate opinion and has not decided how to proceed.

Davenport’s decision could signal how the new administration plans to navigate New Jersey’s tricky political waters — and how Sherrill, a Democrat, will work with an entrenched party boss system led by Norcross

At 69, Norcross, a wealthy insurance broker from Camden County, has been a dominant player in state politics for about three decades, even though he has never been elected to public office. Through his ability to raise money and deliver taxpayer-financed benefits to South Jersey, he’s amassed a loyal network of political allies.

He is also credited with helping to revive Camden, a faded industrial hub of more than 70,000 people that has struggled with crime and poverty, and he has served as chairman of the Cooper University health care system during a period of rapid growth.

Norcross has also drawn critics who say he uses hardball political leverage to benefit himself and his business partners. Former Attorney General Matthew Platkin, who brought the 13-count criminal indictment against Norcross, accused the party boss of using his power to seize control of property on the Camden waterfront and redevelop it at taxpayer expense.

The indictment claims Norcross used his clout to threaten rival developers and even helped engineer a state tax break program to finance a new headquarters for his insurance brokerage and the offices of two business partners.

Former Camden Mayor Dana Redd, the indictment claimed, stalled approvals for other developers for Norcross and Philadelphia developer Carl Dranoff. Norcross’ brother, lawyer and lobbyist Phil Norcross, helped customize tax break legislation in Trenton that gave new Camden developments extraordinary tax awards exceeding those in other towns across the state.

At one point, the indictment claimed, Norcross called Dranoff and attempted to strong-arm him over property rights. When Dranoff declined, the party boss told him he would be banned from any future business in Camden, according to the indictment.

“Are you threatening me?” Dranoff asked.

“Absolutely,” Norcross answered.

Both Redd and Phil Norcross were among the five co-defendants originally charged by Platkin, along with Norcross. The other defendants were longtime Norcross lawyer Bill Tambussi and Norcross business partners John O’Donnell, former CEO of the Michaels Organization, and Sidney Brown, chairman of NFI, a logistics firm.

In February 2025, Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw threw out the charges against all the defendants, arguing that while Norcross’ tactics and threats to rivals in developing the waterfront may have been aggressive, they were not criminal.

Warshaw essentially said that tough talk and hardball maneuvering were old-fashioned politics and should not be criminalized. The appellate court agreed, finding that discussions among Norcross and his associates about ways to acquire development rights simply did not add up to the kind of criminal racketeering that formed the heart of Platkin’s case.

Norcross and his business partners were approved for $240 million in tax breaks under the Economic Opportunity Act of 2013, a state law that created the most generous tax incentives in New Jersey history.

The law was sponsored by George Norcross’ brother, Donald Norcross, a former state lawmaker who is now a U.S. Rep. for New Jersey’s 1st Congressional District, which includes Camden.

Documents show $1.1 billion of the $1.6 billion in tax breaks awarded to Camden under the 2013 law went to businesses associated with Norcross, his partners, or clients of his brother, Philip Norcross.