The ruling upholds a lower-court decision that said prosecutors failed to name criminal conduct by George Norcross, pictured, and his associates in a 13-count indictment handed down in June 2024. (Photo by Hal Brown/New Jersey Monitor)
By Dana DiFilippo
Reprinted with permission
A state appellate panel has upheld the dismissal of a racketeering indictment against South Jersey Democratic powerbroker George Norcross and his associates.
Prosecutors had accused Norcross of overseeing a criminal enterprise by using direct threats and intimidation to win development rights along the Camden waterfront, with Norcross and his allies benefiting from more than $1 billion in state-issued tax credits.
But in a lengthy opinion released Friday, the three-judge panel upheld the lower-court judge’s decision to toss the case against Norcross and five others — Norcross’ brother Philip A. Norcross, an attorney with Parker McKay; former Camden mayor Dana Redd; Sidney Brown, the head of trucking company NFI and a Norcross business partner; and John J. O’Donnell, a real estate developer and president of The Michaels Organization.
The decision affirms a ruling last February by Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw, who said prosecutors failed to name criminal conduct in a 13-count indictment handed down in June 2024.
Defense attorneys had argued that the alleged threats cited in the indictment were instead just hard bargaining that can occur in high-level negotiations between businesses. Warshaw agreed that prosecutors failed to show an illegal threat, which is required for extortion and criminal coercion charges to stand.
During a negotiation at which attorneys were present, prosecutors allege Norcross told Philadelphia-based developer Carl Dranoff, “If you f*** this up, I’ll f*** you up like you’ve never been f***ed up before. I’ll make sure you never do business in this town again.” When Dranoff asked if he was being threatened, Norcross said, “Absolutely,” according to prosecutors.
It’s unclear if acting Attorney General Jen Davenport will appeal to the New Jersey Supreme Court. Michael Symons, a spokesman for the office, said they’re reviewing the appellate decision.
Defense attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment.
Unrelated to the racketeering case, George and Philip Norcross have made an offer to buy the former Wonderland Pier site on the Ocean City Boardwalk.
Eustace Mita, the owner of the Wonderland property, has said that the Norcross brothers want to build townhouses in place of the defunct amusement park.
Mita has proposed building a luxury resort hotel at the Wonderland property, but has not yet been able to line up support for his project from Ocean City officials. At the same time, he has been exploring the possibility of selling the site to the Norcross brothers or other prospective buyers.
