George Norcross, Allies Plead Not Guilty In Corruption Probe

TRENTON, NJ — Political kingmaker George E. Norcross III and his co-defendants pleaded not guilty Tuesday in their first court appearance since their indictment.

Norcross, his brother, his personal attorney, the former mayor of Camden and two others were charged by indictment last month with first-degree racketeering and various financial crimes. The state attorney general has accused Norcross and his associates of wielding their political influence to corruptly obtain lucrative waterfront real estate in Camden, threatening and extorting victims who got in their way.

Those properties brought the so-called "Norcross Enterprise" millions of dollars in tax credits, according to Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin.

A wealthy insurance executive, Norcross was a longtime Democratic Party powerbroker who built influence out of Camden and South Jersey. For decades, he's been considered one of the most-influential figures in New Jersey politics, despite never holding elected office.

Norcross and several of his co-defendants pleaded not guilty to a 13-count indictment during Tuesday's arraignment hearing.

They were charged last month with racketeering and various counts of financial facilitation, misconduct by a corporate official, and official misconduct and conspiring to commit theft by extortion, criminal coercion, financial facilitation, misconduct by a corporate official, and official misconduct.

The following suspects were charged in the case:

• George Norcross: executive chair of insurance firm Conner, Strong & Buckelew and chair of Cooper Health's board of trustees.
• Philip A. Norcross: Norcross's brother, who is an attorney and the managing shareholder and CEO of Parker McCay, a New Jersey law firm. He's the registered agent for the groups that own buildings in Camden at the center of the investigation. Like George Norcross, he is on the board of Cooper Health.
• William M. Tambussi: George Norcross's counsel, an attorney and partner at the law firm Brown and Connery. He is Norcross's longtime personal attorney and served as counsel to the Camden County Democratic Committee, City of Camden the Camden Redevelopment Agency, Cooper Health, and Conner Strong. A judge recently took him off the Rutgers University's Board of Governors after the faculty union sued for his removal, stating he was no longer eligible to serve his position, which required Camden County residency.
• Dana L. Redd: the former mayor of Camden, who is currently CEO of Camden Community Partnership. During her mayorship, which ran from 2010-18, she abused her position to benefit herself and the Norcross enterprise, authorities said
• Sidney Brown: CEO of NFI, a trucking and logistics company that benefitted from the development deals. Brown is also a Cooper Health board member and a partner in the groups that own the Camden buildings at the center of the investigation.
• John J. O'Donnell: of the The Michaels Organization, a residential-development company that owns several of the Camden buildings at the center of the indictment. O'Donnell took a leave of absence as CEO to focus on fighting the charges.

Brown, who wasn't in court, is scheduled to enter his plea Aug. 7. The defendants will return to court Sept. 10 for a status conference.

George Norcross has denied wrongdoing. After taking a front-row seat at Platkin's news conference about the indictment, he called the state attorney general a "coward."

Platkin summarized the 111-page indictment without acknowledging Norcross's presence.

"On full display in this indictment is how a group of unelected, private businessmen used their power and influence to get government to aid their criminal enterprise and further its interests," Platkin said last month. "The alleged conduct of the Norcross Enterprise has caused great harm to individuals, businesses, nonprofits, the people of the State of New Jersey, and especially the City of Camden and its residents."