Lawyers for George Norcross and his associates indicated on Tuesday that they’ll seek to undermine racketeering charges that allege the South Jersey political boss used his vast influence to extort businesses and political leaders while enriching himself and his associates.
Most of the case’s defendants, including Norcross and his younger brother Phillip, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to the various charges in the sprawling indictment.
“The indictment stretches the RICO [racketeering] statute beyond recognition,” Phillip Norcross’ attorney Kevin Marino told Judge Peter Warshaw in court.
The indictment, issued last month, describes how companies tied to George Norcross benefited from a tax program he and Philip Norcross, a public finance attorney, helped design. Prosecutors claim the companies illegally secured hundreds of millions of dollars in tax credits, as well rights to build development on the valuable Camden waterfront.
“My client emphatically states he is not guilty,” George Norcross’ attorney, Michael Critchley, told the court.
Prosecutors say they have a massive trove of evidence in the case — 2.5 million pages of documents, and a terabyte of data that includes 150 recordings and other media files. The New Jersey attorney general’s office, which is prosecuting the case, sought a protective order to keep the evidence private as it distributes the material to the defense.
Warshaw, the judge overseeing the case, issued a 60-day order, giving the parties time to negotiate over what must be kept out of public view.
“I understand you’re concerned about nefarious uses of it,” he said.
Norcross’ attorney said he planned to challenge the legality of some of the recordings in the prosecution’s possession.
For decades, George Norcross has been considered the most powerful unelected figure in New Jersey, as described by the WNYC and ProPublica collaboration, “The Real Bosses of New Jersey.” A third Norcross brother, Donald, is a congressmember who represents the state’s 1st District.
The WNYC podcast “Dead End: A New Jersey Political Murder Mystery” also described documents key to a land deal described in the indictment, found on the table of health care executive John Sheridan and Joyce Sheridan, after they were found dead in their home. The documents detail how the Norcross brothers sought to wrestle rights to develop a waterfront property away from the nonprofit Cooper’s Ferry Partnership, where Sheridan chaired the board. Sheridan was also CEO of Cooper University Health Care, where George Norcross chaired the board.
On the day of his indictment, George Norcross called the charges a political vendetta by Attorney General Matthew Platkin.
“I want to go to trial in two weeks, he said at the time. “I want Matt Platkin to come down here and try this case himself because he’s a coward because he has forced people in this building to implement his will.”
The case will take considerably longer — the next hearing is set for Sept. 9.
George Norcross’ personal attorney Bill Tambussi; former Camden Mayor Dana Redd; and John J. O’Donnell, an executive at Camden-based development company The Michaels Organization, also pleaded not guilty on Tuesday. Another defendant, trucking company CEO Sidney Brown, will be arraigned Aug. 7 because his attorney also represents a party in U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial.
