January 30, 2026
Jim Walsh/Imagn Images
A New Jersey appellate court will not reinstate racketeering charges against George E. Norcross III and five codefendants who had been accused running a criminal enterprise to wield influence and secure development projects Camden waterfront.
An appeals court in New Jersey has ruled against reinstating racketeering charges against George E. Norcross III and five others who had been accused of exploiting government programs and threatening business rivals in Camden.
Last February, a judge in Mercer County Superior Court dismissed the indictment against Norcross and his co-defendants. They had been charged with racketeering and accused of illegally collecting millions of dollars in state tax credits and using intimidation tactics to control the redevelopment of waterfront property. Friday's ruling by a three-judge panel with the state Superior Court's appellate division affirmed the lower court's decision.
MORE: Woman charged with pepper-spraying conservative influencer on SEPTA bus
Former New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin had appealed the dismissal decision in April, arguing Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw made errors that blocked key evidence and did not uphold legal standards.
A spokesperson for Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, who is awaiting Senate confirmation, said Friday her office is reviewing the appellate division's decision.
Norcross, an insurance executive and Democratic powerbroker in New Jersey, pleaded not guilty to the charges two years ago. His attorneys also had filed a motion claiming the state failed to present evidence of crimes in the indictment, which spanned years of investigation.
The other five defendants include Norcross's brother Philip Norcross, an attorney; Dana Redd, the former mayor of Camden; Bill Tambussi, Norcross's longtime personal attorney; John O'Donnell, an executive at a residential development company; and Sidney Brown, a Cooper University Health Care board member.
Norcross is the father of PhillyVoice founder and chairwoman Lexie Norcross. Philip Norcross is her uncle.
In its 92-page decision, the appellate judges found the state's case did not show evidence to support their allegations. The panel also questioned the state's argument that tax benefits reaped by Norcross and his allies extended the statute of limitations to pursue charges beyond the completion of the development deals.
Prosecutors alleged Norcross and his associates pressured government officials and others to aid in the defendants' plans to acquire lucrative projects along the Camden waterfront. The case included details of a wiretapped conversation between Norcross and a rival developer during the time Norcross had been seeking to build the Triad1828 Center as the headquarters for his insurance firm, Conner Strong & Buckelew. Prosecutors alleged he told the developer, Carl Dranoff, that he would ""f*** you up like you've never been f***ed up before" if Dranoff did not relinquish his rights to the property.
Dranoff sold his rights, enabling Norcross to construct the tallest building on the waterfront using tax breaks from a state program he and his associates allegedly helped lawmakers design.
Most of the allegations in the indictment spanned between 2013 and 2019.
Norcross also was accused of intervening in the sale of a waterfront complex he had hoped to use as the offices of Cooper Health, the health system where he and Philip Norcross are board members. Cooper broke ground on the $3 billion hospital expansion a year ago.
Norcross' attorneys argued he and his allies engaged in "hardball business negotiations" and routine city politics to secure the waterfront deals. They accused Platkin of pursuing the case for political gain despite an earlier federal investigation that did not yield any charges.
Friday's 3-0 decision was made by Appellate Judges Greta Gooden Brown, Lisa Rose and Ellen Torregrossa-O'Connor.
