AG Matt Pathin says that George Norcross organized crime case is not over

A day after a New Jersey judge delivered a broad reprimand The team prosecuting the case of criminal extortion against the Democratic Energy Corridor George E. Norcross III – Disienting all the positions and on the side of the defense on each legal issue presented – the main agent of the State Law insisted that the ruling was not a fatal blow.

“Show me a corruption prosecutor who has never suffered a setback, and I will show you someone who has never assumed a hard and fair case,” said New Jersey Attorney, Matthew J. Pathin, in an interview on Thursday.

“But that does not mean that they are not worth it. And in this case, we feel very firmly that a crime was committed, ”he said. “I think the judge was wrong. I respect him. It is certainly not personal. I think I was wrong, and we will look for our appeal options. ”

Platkin’s comments occurred after the Judge of the Superior Court of Mercer County, Peter Warshaw, dismissed Wednesday the ACTUDA OF 13 CONDES OF THE NORCROSS INSURANCE EXECUTIVEwho was accused together with five encoded threats and his reputation as a political chief of Camden to force rival developers to deliver their property in front of the sea.

The judge said even assuming that all accusations against Norcross, 68, are true, They do not constitute extortion. The attorney general told the court that he would appeal the decision.

“We are not aware of a judge who gives a motion like this, without even bothering to read the thousands of pages of the Grand Jury’s testimony,” Pathin said. “And I think that is extraordinary and sends a message that there are two justice systems: one for the rich and well connected and another for everyone else. … we will see how the appeal develops. But obviously I disagree with that. “

Pathin, a designated 38 -year -old Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, also delayed the criticisms of defense lawyers who represent Northross and five encoded, who, in addition to celebrating the judge’s failure, aimed what they called a “corrupt” investigation directed by a attorney general who, they said, abused their power with the looms of advancing in their political career. They said that Platkin’s management was emblematic of broader problems in the anti -corruption unit of your office.

The attorney general said that “he does not postulate for anything” and accused the defense lawyers of using the same play book as President Donald Trump, Mayor of New York Eric Adamsand Former American senator condemned Bob Menéndez (D., NJ) – Each of which has accused the agencies of application of the law to participate in politically motivated prosecutions.

“It is very easy and convenient to create a narrative … that the misconduct we have discovered is because I have hidden reasons, when reality is the misconduct that we discovered and we have prosecuted, not only in this case, but in many others, it is the result of bad decisions made by people in positions of authority who abused that trust,” Pathin said.

‘Bullet -proof findings’

Pathin refused to discuss his litigation strategy. The judge’s decision Prosecutors showed that prosecutors will have to clear several obstacles to persuade the Appeals Division to restore the accusation.

Warshaw, a designated by former Republican governor Chris ChristieHe listed several reasons to dismiss the charges, including that the alleged threats cited by prosecutors were examples of legal economic negotiation, not extortion; Most of the behavior in question took place years ago, outside the statute of limitations; And the six defendants did not understand a company, essentially a criminal organization, in the sense of the New Jersey Extortion Law.

The attorney general “will have to deal with 96 pages of bullets to the proof of bullets that are completely based on the statutes themselves,” said Kevin Marino, lawyer’s lawyer’s lawyer, Philip, Philip, journalists on Wednesday.

“There will be a very deferential standard offered by the very careful and detailed opinion of Judge Warshaw in this case,” Marino said.

During oral arguments in JanuaryThe attached attorney general Michael D. Grillo told the judge that Norcross’s arguments “all need to weigh the evidence or at least consider what evidence the grand jury had in front of her.”

If prosecutors convince a Court of Appeals to revoke the judge’s decision, the State could face time limitations. The defense has already presented motions challenging certain evidence and alleging that the government cheated the Grand Jury – Arguments that would probably take months to litigate. The possession of the Murphy administration ends in January 2026, at which time the case would be handled by a attorney general chosen by the new governor.

The former president of the New Jersey Senate, Steve Sweeney, Democratic candidate for governor and childhood friend of Norcross, called the judge’s decision “More evidence that political prosecutions do not take place in New Jersey or in our nation.” Another Democratic candidate, the mayor of the city of Jersey, Steve Fulop, said he would keep Pathin as AG.

“My hope is that whoever is in this work see the importance of having a solid state agency dedicated to prosecuting corruption,” Pathin said Thursday. “If that disappears, it is a bad service for the 9.5 million people in our state who are fed up with the rich and well connected that obtain a better treatment.”

Hours after the interview, Pathin faced a new fight. Republicans in the State Assembly on Thursday Archive political trial articles against PlatkinIn disagreement with his investigation into the traffic stops of the State Police and accusing him of chasing political opponents. The attorney general called the movement a partisan attack.

Comparisons with ‘Les Misérables’

From Pathin announced the accusation at a press conference In June, Norcross and his lawyers have argued that two previous federal investigations effectively clarified it of irregularities and that in any case, Pathin was motivated by a personal spirit against the energy corridor on a scandal that wrapped the office of the governor early in Murphy’s mandate.

Federal prosecutors in New Jersey told Norcross’s lawyer in a 2018 letter that had closed an investigation related to its client and the “acquisition of fiscal credits” – Without developing the scope of the probe, the researcher previously reported.

In addition, according to records made public at the end of last year, the The United States Prosecutor’s Office in Philadelphia in 2023 told an FBI agent That I would not seek to process Norcross, citing a “review of the permissible evidence available, the applicable law, the probability of a successful judgment and the official prosecution standards.”

Norcross’s lawyer, Michael Critchley, compared the difficult situation of his client with Jean Valjean’s, the The misérables protagonist who was persecuted by an obsessed researcher.

“George Norcross became a prey. I mean, he was investigated once, investigated twice, the same facts, and nothing happened, “Critchley told journalists on Wednesday.” … What new facts did Mr. Pathin had? What new facts did? Zero, none. “

In judicial documents, Platkin’s office said his investigation had “It generated new evidence completely different from” The previous investigations.

“It’s false, simple and simple,” Platkin said Thursday about the notion that other agencies had already investigated the same case. He said he could not discuss the evidence, citing the rules of the secret of the grand jury, but added that if he succeeds in the appeal, “the public can hear the evidence.”

“This case took years,” he added. “It began before my mandate, so this idea that, you know, experienced prosecutors would spend years that it is not to look for what they thought it was a crime is an insult to public servants in the application of the law in our state.”

Pathin said the career officials who work in the case include the attached attorney general Michael T. Breslin, former head of the organized crime task of the FBI of the FBI of the Philadelphia; Drew Skinner, a former federal prosecutor in the South District of New York; and Eric Gibson, a former federal prosecutor In Philadelphia, who successfully condemned the former American representative Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.).

Norcross’s statement that Platkin is inclined in a political revenge against him comes from the management of the Murphy administration of Rape allegations involving staff in the 2017 Governor campaign.

In 2019, a state legislative committee investigating the matter said Platkin, who at that time served as Murphy’s main lawyer, made legal decisions “careless” regarding the creation of a safe work environment. The panel also questioned the credibility of his legislative testimony. According to Norcross, the episode left Pathin “humiliated” and leaned in revenge against Democrats in southern Jersey, since Sweeney led the Senate at that time.

In the interview, Pathin called that accusation “obviously ridiculous” and said that the North American team has not “produced a single evidence” to support it.

“The idea that these career prosecutors and agents of application of the multiple offices law would carry out a several -year investigation based on a personal revenge that I have is ridiculous, and they know it is ridiculous,” he said.

The personnel writer, Chris Palmer, contributed to this article.