New Jersey
Group urges watchdog to ax public contracts connected to indicted power broker • New Jersey Monitor
The New Jersey Working Families Party has asked a state watchdog to investigate and terminate any public contracts involving South Jersey Democratic power broker George Norcross and the five business associates recently indicted with him for racketeering.
In a letter sent Tuesday to acting state Comptroller Kevin D. Walsh, the group’s director, Antoinette Miles, said the corruption indictment should trigger “a strong enforcement response” to protect taxpayer money. She reminded Walsh that state officials, by law, can suspend and disqualify public contractors who have been indicted of any “offense indicating a lack of business integrity or honesty.”
“This indictment represents one of the most significant state public corruption prosecutions in New Jersey history,” Miles wrote. “These defendants hold leadership roles in institutions that continue to receive millions of dollars annually in federal, state, and local taxpayer dollars. This situation is intolerable and, if left unaddressed, will continue to erode public trust and risk taxpayer resources at the hands of an allegedly criminal enterprise.”
Laura Madden, a spokeswoman for Walsh’s office, declined to comment, saying: “Our policy is we can neither confirm nor deny matters like this.”
Attorneys for Norcross and his co-defendants didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
New Jersey Working Families Party has long lobbied state and local officials to investigate Norcross and his allies.
“We have known for years about the Norcross enterprise — how Norcross conducts his business dealings and how he wields influence within city government and with other business partners, as the attorney general so eloquently put it, to extort and extract from the city of Camden,” Miles told the New Jersey Monitor. “There are millions of dollars in public sector contracts at stake, and we need not only the attorney general’s investigation, but we also need to dig deeper into the various entities connected to Norcross, because the level of corruption goes a lot deeper.”
In June, state Attorney General Matt Platkin announced a 13-count indictment against Norcross that accuses him of overseeing a criminal enterprise by using direct threats and intimidation to win development rights along the Camden waterfront and then benefiting from more than $1 billion in state-issued tax credits.
Indicted with him were his brother Philip Norcross, who is CEO of the law firm Parker McCay; George Norcross’ attorney, William M. Tambussi of the law firm Brown & Connery; former Camden mayor Dana Redd; Sidney Brown, the CEO of privately owned trucking company and logistics provider NFI Industries; and John J. O’Donnell, CEO at the Michaels Organization, a residential housing developer.
The charges against them include racketeering, misconduct by a corporate official, official misconduct, financial facilitation of criminal activity, and conspiracy to commit theft by extortion and criminal coercion. Norcross and his co-defendants pleaded not guilty during their arraignments earlier this summer.
George and Phil Norcross, Tambussi, and Redd all hold roles in organizations that receive state and local funds that Miles said deserve the comptroller’s scrutiny:
- George Norcross chairs the Cooper health system’s board of trustees, while his brother is board chair of its charitable arm, the Cooper Foundation. The hospital receives tens of millions of dollars a year through Medicaid, and the comptroller’s office serves as the state’s watchdog against Medicaid fraud. Cooper Health acquired Cape Regional Health System this summer, an expansion of Cooper’s footprint that makes watchdog scrutiny more urgent, Miles added.
- Philip Norcross’ and Tambussi’s law firms have contracts with hundreds of public entities statewide. Tambussi’s firm also represents the South Jersey Transportation Authority, and Platkin’s office charged two commissioners at that authority with misconduct the week before the Norcross indictment.
- Redd heads the Camden Community Partnership, the taxpayer-funded nonprofit at the center of the indictment. Just this week, Camden City Council passed an ordinance to lift a cap on how much taxpayer money can be used to cover the legal expenses of current and past city officials, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
- Conner Strong & Buckelew, the insurance brokerage George Norcross helmed until he took a leave of absence a few weeks after the indictment, provides insurance and risk management services to hundreds of state, county, and local government entities.
Beyond contracts, Miles’ group urged Walsh to investigate all permit applications, approvals, and waivers or determinations that involved Norcross, his co-defendants, and the organizations where they work or hold leadership roles.
“The public deserves to have a full accounting of the amount of taxpayer money going to entities controlled by these individuals,” Miles said.
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Blacksmith Triangle, the site of a former gas station at the corner of North Olden and Lawrence avenues in Trenton, has taken on a new life as the city’s latest green space.
New Jersey Conservation Foundation (NJ Conservation), in partnership with the City of Trenton and other environmental and community organizations, worked to transform the site into a forested park addition over the last two years. Improvements included site clearing and grading, seeding, new sidewalks, bollards, a brick-paved entry plaza, and 14 honey locust trees. The project’s completion was celebrated in May.
The City remediated Blacksmith Triangle years ago to clean up the contamination left behind from its former use as a gas station. But until recently it remained covered with concrete and asphalt and was often used as a de facto parking lot. In 2024, NJ Conservation received a grant from the Licensed Site Remediation Professionals Association Foundation to plant trees on the site, which spurred conversations with Trenton officials about turning the lot into a forested plaza and gateway to George Page Park and the Assunpink Greenway. Construction began in December 2025, thanks to a significant financial contribution from the City of Trenton and additional funding secured by NJ Conservation from private donors.
With this new green space, project leaders aim to increase shade for city residents, who are experiencing disproportionate impacts of climate change. Trenton neighborhoods are dealing with the ‘heat island effect’ that causes higher ambient temperatures in urban areas than in suburban and rural areas.
“Excessive heat is deadly in our communities, and this work will help future generations of Trentonians cope with the rising temperatures that will come with our new climate realities,” said Jay Watson, NJ Conservation’s Senior Fellow for Conservation Justice. “New Jersey Conservation Foundation is proud to do this green infrastructure work in our capital city.”
At a grand opening celebration for Blacksmith Triangle last month, Paul Harris, Trenton’s Director of Recreation, Natural Resources, and Culture, said the City is excited about the lot’s transformation, highlighting the partnership that made the project possible.
“Our goal is to green as much of the town as we can, but in order to do that successfully, we need to bring on partners,” said Harris.
The revitalization of Blacksmith Triangle is part of a larger greening effort throughout the city. NJ Conservation and its partners — City of Trenton, Isles, the New Jersey Tree Foundation, the Watershed Institute, and the Outdoor Equity Alliance — are working to build a greener, more equitable New Jersey through the Trees for Trenton program. Thanks to a grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, 1,000 shade trees are being planted throughout Trenton, creating a healthier environment for residents and visitors.
Trees for Trenton was announced in 2023 at an Arbor Day celebration when the first trees were planted at Mulberry Street Park. More than 900 trees have been planted throughout the city since then.
(Courtesy of New Jersey Conservation Foundation)
About New Jersey Conservation Foundation
Recognizing that a healthy environment is critical to the well-being and survival of all living things, New Jersey Conservation Foundation is devoted to preserving land and protecting natural resources throughout New Jersey’s rural, suburban, and urban landscapes.
Since 1960, the nonprofit, nonpartisan, statewide organization has preserved more than 140,000 acres of open space, farmland, and parks. The organization manages more than a dozen nature preserves, conducts public outreach and education programs, and advocates for sensible land use and climate policies that will protect the health of New Jersey’s plants, wildlife, and people for generations to come.
Courtesy of New Jersey Conservation Foundation
How to protect your NJ home from wind: Video
Here’s how to windproof your home to minimize damage, and what to do if a tree falls on your property as a result of the weather
A severe thunderstorm watch looms over North Jersey on the evening of June 12 after days of extreme heat.
Nation Weather Service New York declared a severe thunderstorm watch for numerous North Jersey counties including Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex, Morris and Sussex among other Central Jersey and New York counties. The watch is in effect until 9 p.m., according to the NWS statement.
In an hourly forecast from The Weather Channel for Paramus, there is a 74% chance of thunderstorms at 7 p.m.
High temperatures reached past 90 degrees in many parts of North Jersey on June 11 and June 12 as a heat advisory also remains in effect until 8 p.m., said NWS New York.
“Dangerous heat is expected to continue across much of our region through today, with several record highs likely to be challenged again. High temperatures are forecast to peak into the low to mid 90s across most of the area,” the National Weather Service said Friday.
A Heat Advisory is in effect until 8 p.m. across the state except for Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Salem counties.
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