Power broker George Norcross and 5 allies indicted; accused of threatening Philly developer Carl Dranoff

George E. Norcross III, the towering figure who has led South Jersey’s Democratic political machine for nearly a quarter century, was charged Monday in a sweeping racketeering case alleging that he and key allies used their influence to corruptly acquire tax credits and real estate worth millions while muscling rivals out of the lucrative redevelopment of Camden’s waterfront.

Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin unveiled the 13-count indictment — which also named Norcross’ brother and Camden-based attorney Philip, their longtime lawyer William Tambussi, and former Camden Mayor Dana Redd as defendants — at a news conference in Trenton.

He accused the group — which he repeatedly referred to as the “Norcross Enterprise” — of hijacking a 2013 state program meant to encourage development in poorer communities to line their own pockets instead. They maintained that control, Platkin said, through coercion, extortion and threats.

The indictment largely focuses on George Norcross’ alleged role in development deals in a handful of properties on Camden’s waterfront. They include:

L3 building

Known as the L3 building, the 575,000-square-foot complex is named after its largest tenant, L3 Communications.

George Norcross and his allies raked in millions, prosecutors said, thanks to their control over city government and their efforts to muscle their way into the waterfront’s redevelopment.

As of 2023, Norcross’ insurance brokerage received $8.6 million in redevelopment tax credits from the state, which it sold for $7.9 million. From 2012 to 2023, Norcross collected more than $29 million in wages from the firm.

Meanwhile, Cooper Health, the hospital network for which Norcross serves as board chairman, received $27.1 million in tax credits between 2016 and 2022 and sold them fore $25 million — an amount that allowed it to completely offset what it owed in rents at its headquarters building, which it partially owns.

Dana Redd, 56, was orphaned at age 8 and climbed the ladder of machine politics to become mayor of Camden and a state senator.

A longtime George Norcross ally, Redd started working for the Camden County Board of Freeholders when she was in her 20s, later winning election to the Camden City Council. She served as a state senator from 2008 through 2010, serving in both jobs after she was elected mayor in 2009, which is legal in New Jersey.

In 2017, Redd declined to run for reelection, but she was named a few weeks into the new year to a $275,000 job as CEO of the Rowan University/Rutgers-Camden Board of Governors. Lawmakers sweetened her state pension with special legislation that allowed her eight years of mayor service to count toward retirement.

A union representing more than 6,000 full-time faculty members at Rutgers is calling for William Tambussi to resign or to be removed from the university’s board of governors after he was charges as part of a 16-count indictment involving George Norcross. 

“Tambussi has to go,” Todd Wolfson, president of Rutgers AAUP-AFT, said in a statement. “How can the Board of Governors claim to be legitimate in overseeing the university’s mission—including serving the people of Camden and New Jersey—when the person who’s supposed to represent Camden on the board stands accused of enriching himself at the expense of the city and its campus?”

In January, the union filed a lawsuit to have Tambussi removed for violating a state law requiring members of the board of governors live in the county they are appointed to represent by the governor. In Tambussi’s case, that’s Camden County. 

Philip Norcross’ attorney called the extortion allegations against his client “outrageous” and said the prominent lawyer had an “unblemished” legal career.

“The idea that the Attorney General of the State of New Jersey would, without apparent irony, say that he is interested in holding those in power to account is truly extraordinary,” lawyer Kevin Marino told reporters. “Mr. Platkin is going to find out in this case, what it really means to have those who really are in power to be held to account.”

Marino said he wanted “the speediest trial we possibly can get” and hopes Platkin himself will try the case. He also accused the AG of making inappropriate “extrajudicial statements that are designed to influence a proceeding.”

George Norcross and his lawyer accused Attorney General Matt Platkin of pursuing a political vendetta against the South Jersey Democratic leader.

“I want to go to trial in two weeks. I want Matt Platkin to come down here and try this case himself,” Norcross told reporters outside the Hughes Justice Complex after the attorney general announced charges Monday. “Because he's a coward, because he has forced people in this building to implement his will.”

Michael Critchley, an attorney for Norcross, told reporters the criminal charges filed against his client were not the result of a “fair, impartial proceeding but rather the culmination of a political vendetta that Mr. Platkin personally has against” the Democratic power broker.

The indictment paints Philip Norcross, the younger brother of George Norcross, as deeply involved in tailoring New Jersey’s 2013 tax incentive program to benefit his brother’s interests.

He was in constant contact with then-state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a childhood friend of his brother’s, through work on the bill that created the program and, prosecutors say, worked with others to rewrite portions of it to make it easier for development projects in Camden to obtain approvals and to specifically carve out space for hospitals, like Cooper Health, to take advantage.

Shortly after the passage of the law creating the tax credit program in September 2013, Philip Norcross spoke to several allies in a meeting that was recorded and detailed in Monday’s indictment.

New Jersey Democrats are weighing in after South Jersey power broker George Norcross and several key allies in were charged Monday in a racketeering indictment.

Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, who is running for governor in 2025, said in a statement it "is a good day for South Jersey and importantly it’s a good day for the future of New Jersey.”

Sue Altman, who is running against Republican Rep. Tom Kean in New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, called the news of the indictment "a major step toward rooting out the rampant corruption that led to the abuse of taxpayer dollars and Camden residents."

George Norcross’ first attempt to respond to the allegations against him were briefly interrupted, after New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin's office asked that he do so outside the justice complex in Trenton, where Monday's news conference took place.

Norcross and his attorneys had gathered the press inside the building. But after five to 10 minutes of speaking, state police asked them to take their presentation across the street, prompting the Norcross camp and a crowd of reporters to shuffle outside the building before they could continue.

The instruction to move, police said, was made at the request of the attorney general’s office.

Among the criminal conduct alleged in the indictment, prosecutors say Norcross threatened one developer who held property rights to land eventually used to build the tallest building on Camden’s waterfront – the Triad 1828 Centre and current headquarters of Norcross’ insurance brokerage – as well as an apartment building known as 11 Cooper.

Though he is not identified by name in the charging document, the Inquirer reported last year that rival was Philadelphia real estate developer Carl Dranoff.

When Dranoff refused to relinquish his rights to the property, Norcross, according to the indictment, threatened he would “f— you up like you’ve never been f— before.” He also vowed the developer would never do business in Camden again, the indictment says.

Prosecutors have built their racketeering case around the legal theory that George Norcross and his allies helped influence New Jersey’s legislation offering tax credits to bolster development in economically distressed areas. Then, they allegedly used their ties to city government to “extort and coerce” others to obtain lucrative property and development rights along Camden’s waterfront.

The entities that benefitted – including Cooper Health and Norcross’ insurance firm, Conner, Strong & Buckelew, – occupied those properties or sold the tax credits they obtained for millions.

“Through a pattern of extortion and other criminal conduct, the Norcross Enterprise also sought to promote and maintain the business, political and philanthropic power and reputation of George E. Norcross III and other enterprise members and associates,” the indictment reads.

George Norcross made a surprise appearance at Monday's news conference.

Minutes before New Jersey Attorney General Mattlew Platkin was set to announce the charges, Norcross took a seat in the front row in the conference room at the Hughes Justice Complex in Trenton.

The seat was reserved for an FBI agent. Norcross' lawyer, Michael Critchley, was also in attendance.

South Jersey power broker George E. Norcross III and key figures in his Democratic political machine have been charged in a racketeering indictment, alleging that they used their influence over government entities to corruptly acquire lucrative waterfront real estate in Camden, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The exact charges and full list of defendants has not been publicly released. However, Norcross’ brother Philip, his longtime lawyer William Tambussi and former Camden Mayor Dana Redd are among those also facing state felony charges, according to the two sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the case.

Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin is expected to announce the allegations at a Monday afternoon news conference in Trenton. The announcement comes days after his office charged two Norcross allies on the board of the South Jersey Transportation Authority with using their positions to halt payments to a contractor to exact revenge on a Norcross foe.

» READ MORE: South Jersey power broker George Norcross, allies charged in sweeping racketeering case

George Norcross, 68, is an insurance executive and South Jersey power broker seen as one of the most influential figures in New Jersey politics, despite never holding elected office.

For nearly 30 years, Norcross has help push allies into public office and filled the New Jersey Assembly with allies. That includes his younger brother, Donald Norcross, who serves at the U.S. representative for the first congressional district in South Jersey, which includes Camden and areas of Burlington and Gloucester Counties.

Norcross serves as the executive chairman of Conner Strong & Buckelew, which describes itself as "one of the nation’s largest insurance, risk management and employee benefits brokerage and consulting firms."

An ongoing grand jury probe of power broker George E. Norcross III’s influence over government agencies in South Jersey produced its first criminal charges Friday, as state prosecutors unveiled cases against two public officials accused of abusing their positions to retaliate against a Norcross foe.

Christopher M. Milam and Bryan J. Bush, both commissioners of the South Jersey Transportation Authority, are accused of leading an effort last year to delay payments owed to an agency contractor after one of its executives crossed Norcross politically.

Charging documents filed against Milam and Bush did not identify Norcross by name but clearly referenced him throughout, referring to him only as a “South Jersey Democratic Party Leader,” and citing his 2022 feud with the contracting company executive as the reason behind Milam and Bush’s decision to vote against paying the firm money it was owed under its contract with the SJTA.