6 events in Passaic County with a date

Platkin took aim at Norcross and missed

Can New Jersey politics ever rally change?

By: Charles Stile
Political Stile
USA Today Network

..... It was a roll of the dice that no other modern New Jersey attorney general had even considered.
..... Matthew J. Platkin stitched together an indictment that targeted not only George E. Norcross III, the state's most influential Democratic Party kingpin, but also "enterprise" that extended from the halls of the Statehouse to the Camden waterfront.
..... On paper Platkin's bombshell indictment named Norcross and five other co-defendants,, including his brother Philip.
..... In reality, the 39-year-old Platkin was putting on trial the New Jersey political system that allowed Norcross and other party bosses to convert hardball power into profit for decades.
..... But on Wednesday, [02/26/2025] state Superior Court Judge Peter E. Warsaw Jr. tossed out the entire indictment. It was a slam-dunk rejection in Platkin's sweeping case, which Democratic Party activists and progressive had hoped would serve as a the long-sought breakthrough, a bungling block for lasting reform.
..... Instead, Platkin is sorting through the rubble of a legal and political humiliation. he intends to file an appeal "immediately."
..... "After years in which the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently cut back on federal public corruption law, and at a time in which the federal government is refusing to tackle corruption, it has never been more important for state officials to take corruption head on," he said in a statement. "But I have never promised that these cases would be easy, because too many have come to view corruption as simply the way the powerful do business in New Jersey.
..... Now the unsettling question for the progressive activists who challenged the Democratic machine in Camden, Norcross's base of political and community operations, and for the neighborhood residents who fought for redress and recognition in the shadows of office buildings rising along the Delaware River, is this: Will New Jersey's corroded system ever change?
..... Certainly, lawmakers who owe their very careers to the boss-dominated system can't be counted on to dismantle it.
..... And if not the courts, then who?
..... "This ruling makes a mockery of the justice system and exposes how there are two sets of rules in New Jersey: one that protects the wealthy and well-connected, and another that punishes ordinary people," said Antoinette Miles, state director of the New Jersey Working Families Party, and a longtime foe of the Norcross politician operation.
..... "By dismissing these charges, the court is sending a dangerous message that using your power to intimidated others to enrich yourself and your friends is totally fine."
..... The indictment accused Norcross and his cronies of using his political muscle in Trenton to consolidate and retool a state tax credit program.
..... The "enterprise" repackaged the program to give Camden a clear advantage, which Norcross allies used to turbocharge redevelopment along the banks of the Delaware River.
..... The indictment also accused the enterprise and its connected cronies of profiting form those tax credits, and in turn, illegally elbowing aside businesspeople and other officials deemed to be obstacles with threats of extortion and intimidation.
..... But in his ruling, Warshaw argued that the linchpin ti the state;s racketeering case - the :common denominator" examples of extortion that wove through the indictment's 13 counts - did not constitute extortion. Unsavory behavior? Bare-knuckled conduct? Sure.
..... But the conduct wasn't criminal, he ruled.
..... In the most widely citied example, George and Philip Norcross ran into resistance form a developer over the hight easement on a proeprty in 2016. George Norcross went ballistic, court records said.
..... "If you f--- this up, I'll f--- you up like you're never been f---ed up before. I'll make the developer, who apparently "took this threat seriously. he believed continued intractability would jeopardize his ability to do business in Camden and his financial interest genera tally," the ruling said.
..... But Warshaw saw it as legally permitted conduct that often arises during heated business negotiations.
..... "Clearly, this is a steel cage brawl between two heavyweights, both accompanied at times by a least one lawyer," the judge wrote.
..... "Does it mean anything at all? This saber-rattling sounds much like 'this town ain't big enough for the two of us.' Remember not every threat is criminal or even wrong."
..... He added that the "defendants correctly argue that when considering private parties negotiating economic deals in a free market system, threats are sometimes neither wrongful or unlawful. In these situations, there may be nothing inherently wrong in using economic fear to obtain property."

What's next for Platkin, Norcross?

..... The ruling comes nearly eight months after a furious Norcross arrived - sockless and uninvited - at the Trenton press conference where Platkin unveiled the charges. On Wednesday [02/26/2025] his attorney, Michael Critchley, and others who represented the co-defendants lashed out at Platkin, accusing him of cobbling together a "bogus" case, and argued that Office of Public Integrity & Accountability, which developed the case, should come under scrutiny.
..... "All options are on the table," said Lee Vartan, an attorney for William Tambussi, Norcross's lawyer and a co-defendant in the case.
..... They also argued that Platkin mobilized the case to further his own political ambitions, although without specifying what office he might one day seek.
..... In a recent interview with NorthJersey.com and The Record, Platkin said he had no political plans but didn't rule out a run for office in the future.
..... Some political analysis and party observers say the ruling now "re-energizes" Norcross, whose statewide power has ebbed in recent election cycles.
..... "George is more powerful today than any day before he was indicted," asserted one veteran Democratic Party operative.
..... Although he remains active in state polities - he still had enough clout to get five former New Jersey governors to attend a groundbreaking last month at Copper University Hospital, where Norcross serves as board chairman, even while still under indictment - he no longer wields the power of "peak Norcross" of a decade ago, when he maintenanced a tight grip on the legislature and collaborated with party bosses in both South and Central Jersey.
..... And his South Jersey base has become more Republican in recent years, making it more difficult and costly to notch Democratic victories.
..... For Platkin, the setback comes as he has enjoyed his moment in the national spotlight as a prominent figure challenging President Donald Trump's constitutional dubious executive orders on birthright citizenship and federal funding freezes and more.
..... But Trump's latest norm-busing du jour was far from Platkin's propitiates on Wednesday. [02/26/2025]
..... "Today [02/26/2025] is a reminder of how much work rennins, and how difficult it will be to cleanup government in our state," the attorney general's statement said.
..... "But along with the career law enforcement officers and prosecutors who have worked on this case for years, I won't back down from that fight."

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