George Norcross probe: Prosecutors have broadened their investigation of the N.J. power broker beyond Camden real estate deals

Months into a state and federal investigation into South Jersey Democratic power broker George E. Norcross III, authorities have expanded their focus beyond his involvement in real estate deals in Camden.

In recent weeks, investigators with the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office and FBI have begun scrutinizing whether the 67-year-old insurance executive played a role in a state agency’s decision to temporarily stop payments to a contractor after one of the company’s executives reportedly defied Norcross with an endorsement in a local election last year, according to sources familiar with the probe.

The South Jersey Transportation Authority’s board voted on multiple occasions in early 2023 not to approve invoices from Middletown, N.J.-based firm T&M Associates, which held a contract for engineering and construction management work, according to the agency’s meeting minutes. All other vendors were paid during that period.

The decision to halt payments came weeks after a meeting between Norcross and T&M vice president John Cimino, who is also a Mercer County commissioner, about a local political race.

Politico reported last year that in December 2022, Norcross urged Cimino not to endorse a candidate in the contested race for Mercer County executive. Cimino did anyway, and Norcross’ insurance brokerage, Conner Strong & Buckelew, abruptly dropped T&M as a client, the news site reported.

Now, authorities are looking into whether Norcross, who does not hold elected office but is widely seen as one of the state’s most influential political figures, also influenced the SJTA’s decision to stop paying the company in retaliation, according to three sources briefed on the investigation.

The authority received a subpoena in recent weeks regarding the T&M contract, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the progress of the ongoing probe. A grand jury has also been hearing testimony about the matter, sources said.

But a representative for Norcross balked Wednesday at the notion that Norcross played any role in the SJTA board’s decisions. “He had nothing to do with T&M’s payments,” spokesperson Dan Fee said.

The SJTA — which operates the Atlantic City Expressway, the Atlantic City International Airport, and parking facilities in Atlantic City — declined to discuss the recent subpoena. But a spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday that the payments its board delayed to T&M in early 2023 were settled within a few months. She did not answer questions regarding what factors influenced the board’s initial decision to hold up payment to the contractor, but sources close to the agency maintained that they were rooted in issues with T&M’s work performance.

Investigators’ scrutiny of those payment delays comes months into an ongoing probe of Norcross’ real estate dealings in Camden between 2014 and 2018. Though the SJTA matter occurred years afterward and involves different players, authorities’ interest in both matters appears to be connected and could suggest they are seeking to establish a pattern of Norcross using his influence with government officials in South Jersey to punish political and business rivals, sources familiar with the investigation said. Prosecutors are also looking into whether people have lied to the grand jury investigating the T&M matter, sources said.

The Inquirer reported in June that investigators had issued subpoenas and interviewed several potential witnesses tied to, among other matters, a dispute pitting Norcross and Camden officials against Philadelphia-area developer Carl Dranoff.

In a lawsuit that was settled last year, Dranoff accused Norcross and his brother Philip, a lawyer, of pressuring Camden officials to frustrate Dranoff’s development deals in the city after the men had a falling out. George Norcross has repeatedly denied those claims and accused Dranoff of cheating Camden’s taxpayers. The developer’s settlement deal with the city required him to pay $3 million plus additional tax payments as well as convey certain property rights to the city in exchange for certain concessions.

Authorities’ interest in that dispute began around the same time Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, nominated his longtime aide Matthew J. Platkin to be New Jersey attorney general, The Inquirer reported last year.

Platkin was a key player behind a Murphy-appointed task force that investigated the state’s tax credit programs — an inquiry that focused in part on companies linked to Norcross. Earlier this year, the AG announced that energy technology company Holtec International — whose board members include Norcross — had agreed to pay $5 million to avoid criminal charges in a settlement involving the company’s applications for state tax credits. Holtec admitted no wrongdoing.

For months now, investigators from Platkin’s office have been meeting with potential witnesses and issuing new subpoenas — some dated as recently as February — as part of their investigation into Norcross’ role in various Camden waterfront real estate deals, according to sources familiar with the probe’s progress. Meanwhile, a grand jury has also been hearing testimony about the deals, sources said.

Fee, Norcross’ spokesperson, said investigators had not contacted Norcross in connection with the transportation authority’s decision to stop payments to T&M Associates last year.

“George is the executive chairman of Conner Strong & Buckelew, among America’s largest insurance brokerage firms, as well as chairman of Cooper University Health Care and MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper, the largest employer in Camden and Camden County,” Fee said in a statement. “He is not in the civil engineering business, and he had nothing to do with T&M’s payments, which is why he hasn’t been contacted and what any fair investigation will quickly prove.”

T&M has long been a big political player in New Jersey. The company, which says it has worked with governments in each of the state’s 21 counties, had public contracts totaling $33 million in 2022. It contributed $356,000 to New Jersey political committees that year — fourth most among public contractors, according to an analysis by the state Election Law Enforcement Commission.

The SJTA, which reported operating revenues of $156 million in 2022 and expenses of $125.5 million, derives most of its revenue from AC Expressway tolls. Its leadership has ties to the South Jersey Democratic political machine, which Norcross has led for more than two decades.

Its executive director, Stephen F. Dougherty, previously worked for former U.S. Rep. Robert E. Andrews, a Camden County Democrat and Norcross ally. Board members, who are nominated by the governor and must be confirmed by the state Senate, include a Democratic municipal chairman in Gloucester County, labor leaders, and the Camden County clerk. The agency’s general counsel works for a law firm that counts Lou Cappelli, director of the Camden County Board of Commissioners, as a partner.

And like many public and private entities, the authority contracts with Norcross’ firm, Conner Strong, for brokerage and consulting services with respect to employee benefits programs.

According to the Politico report, Norcross’ dispute with T&M executive Cimino began after a December 2022 meeting at a Trenton-area Starbucks to discuss the then-ongoing Democratic primary race for Mercer County executive. Also on hand were Hamilton Mayor Jeff Martin and lobbyist Kevin Drennan.

At the time, Norcross was backing incumbent Brian Hughes against challenger Daniel Benson. Norcross asked Martin and Cimino to stay neutral in the race. But days later, both Martin and Cimino appeared on a list of endorsements announced by Benson, who eventually won his race.

Norcross lashed out at Cimino, accusing him of reversing his position on the election and describing him to Politico as a “bald-faced liar.” Norcross’ insurance brokerage dropped T&M as a client soon after.

By February, T&M had another problem on its hands.

During the SJTA’s Feb. 15, 2023, meeting, its nine-member board held a routine vote to approve the agency’s bills. The board members in attendance unanimously agreed to pay all of them except what it owed to T&M.

Two members — vice chairman Christopher M. Milam and commissioner Bryan J. Bush — had signaled their intent to vote against paying the engineering firm as early as a week before the meeting, according to board minutes.

“By vote, said bill list was approved with the exception of all T&M Assoc. Invoices,” the minutes say.

Both Milam and Bush were appointed in 2017 by Republican Gov. Chris Christie and, through their confirmation process, received support from then-Senate President Steve Sweeney, a Gloucester County Democrat and close Norcross ally.

Neither Milam, who is also owner of an insurance firm and chairman of the Washington Township Democratic Committee in Gloucester County, nor Bush, business manager of the Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 19 in Philadelphia, returned messages seeking comment about their February 2023 T&M vote.

The authority board voted again to hold up T&M’s payments in March with a unanimous vote by all board members present including its chair, then-Transportation Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, a Murphy appointee. And in April, Milam and Bush again reiterated their opposition to paying the engineering firm’s bills, meeting minutes say.

In a statement to The Inquirer, an authority spokesperson said that all of the held-up payments to T&M were paid in May. Those payments were made months before the authority was served with the subpoena inquiring about the dispute.

SJTA declined to discuss the initial reasons for the delay or the suggestion, raised by others, that it had to do with T&M’s performance.

Just last month, the company entered into a settlement with the authority that required it to partially cover the cost of work needed to address “an error in the original design” on a garage project T&M had overseen. That project, however, was not related to the board’s earlier decision to delay payment of the company’s invoices, sources said.

T&M did not return messages seeking comment on its work for SJTA or the attorney general’s investigation.