Court filings show Justice Department declines to file charges against George Norcross in 2023

Federal authorities in Philadelphia wiretapped phone calls from George Norcross, his brother Philip and others for months in 2016, before deciding years later that they had no case against the Democratic power broker.

“Based on the available admissible evidence, applicable law, the likelihood of a successful trial, and a review of the office’s prosecutorial standards, we believe this matter should not be the subject of federal prosecution,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney KT Newton. he wrote a letter to FBI Special Agent Stephen Rich in April 2023. The letter, made public in a court filing Wednesday, referred to the office’s case file for “United States v. George Norcross.”

But just days before Newton wrote the letter, prosecutors with the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office began presenting their own case against Norcross to a grand jury, according to court records. Norcross and five other defendants have since been charged with racketeering and other crimes.

New details about years-long investigation into Norcross First revealed in a court filing Wednesday Norcross co-defendant William Tambussi sought the affidavits that led to these wiretaps. Tambussi’s lawyers asked a state judge to order Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin to “immediately turn over the complete, unredacted wiretap applications” used to obtain key evidence in the case.

According to the file, the state attorney general’s investigation began in 2019. At that time, several federal prosecutors and investigators in Philadelphia — including Newton and Rich — were assigned as special state agents who reported to the AG’s Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, according to the filing.

AG’s investigation concluded Announcement of state racketeering charges against Norcross in June and five co-defendants. They are accused of using threats and intimidation to obtain valuable waterfront property in Camden from rival developers.

“Although the ‘available admissible evidence’ was not sufficient to meet the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s ‘prosecution standards,’ the same evidence was apparently sufficient to meet the Attorney General’s much lower ‘prosecution standards,'” Tambussi’s attorney wrote. Lee Vartan and others wrote in Wednesday’s filing.

A spokesman for the AG’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This is a developing story and will be updated.