George Norcross Urges Court to Dismiss Extortion Case Against Him

George E. Norcross III on Tuesday urged a judge to dismiss extortion charges filed against him and five of his allies earlier this year, deriding state prosecutors’ case as filled with “trivial” accusations that amount to little more than “a crime-less crime.”

In a motion to dismiss the case, lawyers for the South Jersey energy broker argued that the state’s lengthy indictment did not cite any specific criminal activity. Instead, they defended what prosecutors described as Norcross’s attempts to extort competing developers on the Camden waterfront as nothing more than “hard-nosed business negotiations.”

Furthermore, they accused prosecutors of basing the case on ten-year-old charges that were time-barred, and of using flawed legal reasoning to argue that the charges were time-barred.

“The state’s 111-page indictment reads less like a legal document and more like a script for a putative summer blockbuster. Except that the script is missing several key plot points,” the filing states. “This indictment has nothing to do with judicial law. It is too banal and too generous to be called an indictment in search of a crime.”

The lawyers added: “If warning of ‘consequences’ if there is no agreement or using profanity while doing so is a crime, New Jersey needs to build more prisons.”

55-page act — authored by Norcross attorneys Michael Critchley and Yaakov Roth, as well as Kevin Marino, an attorney for Norcross’ brother, Philip, who is also charged in the case — represents the defendants’ first significant legal response since Attorney General Matt Platkin unsealed a 13-count indictment against them in July.

» READ MORE: Read the full 13-count indictment against South Jersey energy broker George Norcross

Also charged were Norcross’s longtime attorney William Tambussi, former Camden Mayor Dana L. Redd and two businessmen — John J. O’Donnell and Sidney Brown — who worked with Norcross on development deals. All have entered not guilty pleas.

In seeking dismissal of the case Tuesday, defense attorneys sought to change the indictment’s portrayal of Norcross as a tyrant who used his considerable political influence to corruptly acquire millions in Camden waterfront real estate while forcing out rivals and manipulating a 2013 New Jersey tax break program to line his own pockets.

Instead, they portrayed the Camden County insurance executive, Cooper University Health Care board chairman and head of South Jersey’s powerful Democratic machine for more than a quarter-century as a benevolent civic leader who planned to spark a “renaissance” in his hometown of Camden, which has struggled for decades with high crime and disinvestment.

“The basic ‘plan’ of George Norcross and others involved in Camden’s future was to invest large sums of money in the waterfront to revitalize that part of the city,” the defense motion said. “The plan required skill, coordination, and large sums of money.”

Those portrayed by prosecutors as victims of Norcross’s alleged misdeeds turned out to be obstacles, lawyers said, standing in the way of Camden’s revitalization, which they hoped would benefit them personally and professionally.

“The indictment tells a story of defendants who hustled, cajoled, lobbied and networked — all to push through the redevelopment of the Camden waterfront, despite those who would have blocked it,” they wrote. “But all of this arm-twisting and maneuvering is routine in business and politics. Much of it is constitutionally protected. None of it is even remotely criminal.”

For example, the indictment accuses Norcross and his allies of forcing Philadelphia real estate developer Carl Dranoff to give up property rights that stood in the way of a planned development in 2016. When Dranoff initially balked at Norcross’s terms to buy the rights, prosecutors say Norcross told Dranoff he would “fuck you up like you’ve never fucked up before,” adding that he would make sure the developer never did business in Camden again.

» READ MORE: Philadelphia developer Carl Dranoff sues George Norcross and his brother Philip after being accused of criminal extortion

In their motion filed Tuesday, Norcross’s lawyers argued that the harsh words were justified because Dranoff, himself an experienced negotiator, was “dragging his feet” on the negotiations and jeopardizing a deal that could have benefited Camden.

Ultimately, they noted, Dranoff received nearly $2 million in exchange for giving up his property rights, and New Jersey law provides exceptions for certain threats of economic harm in the context of business negotiations.

“Had Dranoff single-handedly torpedoed a project heralding Camden’s rebirth, he would have clearly become toxic ‘in this city,’” the lawyers wrote. “Sure, Norcross’s language may have been harsh, but using profanity in business negotiations is not a crime.”

In the case of Anthony Perno, former CEO of the nonprofit economic development organization Cooper’s Ferry Partnership, who prosecutors say was threatened in 2014 with losing his job if he resisted orders from Norcross and his allies to partner with a favored developer on another waterfront project, defense attorneys said Tuesday that “it’s not a crime to boss someone around.”

They argued that the alleged threat was made by Susan Bass Levin, then the nonprofit’s board chairwoman, who was not charged in the case. Prosecutors presented no evidence that Norcross or any of his co-defendants knew about her words or planned to act on them, attorneys said.

Moreover, Philip Norcross, who had previously directed Perno to partner with Norcross’s preferred developer, had a legitimate interest in directing that relationship because he was then the head of the Cooper Foundation, a philanthropic entity that sat on Cooper’s Ferry’s board and thus had “a voice in the management of its affairs.”

Tuesday’s defense motion also addressed allegations that Redd, the former mayor of Camden, is accused of abuse of power because she allegedly used her office to promote Norcross’ business interests.

Norcross’ attorneys noted that the indictment “barely mentions her [and] If this happens, it represents the politics typical of the average person – there is nothing ethically unethical, much less illegal.”

Specifically, Redd is accused of failing to return Dranoff’s phone calls during the alleged argument with Norcross, and of ordering Perno, Cooper’s Ferry’s CEO, to meet with Philip Norcross during the course of his proposed development deal.

“So what?” the defense countered Tuesday. “It’s all too common for officials to ‘arrange meetings’ between constituents to help resolve local disputes. … The indictment seems to be angry that the mayor was particularly sensitive to the wishes of some constituents. But that’s politics, not a crime.”

A spokesman for the General Prosecutor’s Office said prosecutors “are certain of the charges brought against us and are eagerly awaiting the response in our court filings.”

Mercer County Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw gave prosecutors until Nov. 22 to formally file a response in court.

Read the application: