TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Democratic power broker George E. Norcross III was charged Monday with operating a racketeering business, threatening individuals whose homes he lookedfor to take over, and managing tax reward legislation to advantage companies he managed.
Norcross, seated in the front row throughout a news conference by Attorney General Matt Platkin, madly knocked the charges, lateron calling Platkin a “coward” and requiring a fast trial.
The charges versus the 68-year-old Norcross and 5 others come as New Jersey is currently under a political and legal microscopiclense, with Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez on trial in New York on federal corruption charges. Platkin, likewise a Democrat, cast the charges as law enforcement breaking down on misdeed.
“When we state no one is above the law, we imply it and we will continue to hold liable anybody who puts their interest above the public interest, no matter how effective they might be,” Platkin stated.
In a 111-page indictment unsealed on Monday, the lawyer basic declares a plan reaching back to 2012 in which the offenders — called the “Norcross Enterprise” in the indictment — utilized his political impact to craft legislation that served their own interests.
Among the accusations versus Norcross are charges that he threatened a designer who would not giveup his rights to waterside residentialorcommercialproperty in Camden, New Jersey, on Norcross’ terms. The indictment pointsout a profanity-laden phone recording of Norcross in which he informs the designer he will face “enormous repercussions.” The individual asks if Norcross is threatening him, according to the indictment. “Absolutely,” Norcross replies.
The indictment likewise stated Norcross and the co-defendants obtained and pushed services with residentialorcommercialproperty rights on Camden’s waterside and gotten tax reward credits, which they then offered for millions of dollars. Platkin explained Camden as long suffering from financial decrease.
Defense attorney Michael Critchley implicated Platkin of having a “vendetta” versus Norcross, keepinginmind that the waterside advancement hadactually been examined for years by numerous companies, consistingof federal districtattorneys in Philadelphia and New Jersey, as well as Platkin’s predecessor.
“And every company that looked at this matter for the past 7 years … came up with absolutelynothing,” he stated at a news conference.
Norcross, the