Dead End: A New Jersey Political Murder Mystery

On June 17, the New Jersey state attorney general announced an indictment of George Norcross, and the powerful party boss showed up. It was a remarkable moment because Norcross is charged in a racketeering case that, by definition, involves intimidation. 

The 111-page indictment alleges that Norcross and five others run a criminal enterprise to “extort others through threats and fear of economic and reputational harm.”

Note: This episode does contain some foul language.

Big news for Dead End listeners.

On Monday, June 17, George Norcross was charged in a 13-count indictment from the attorney general of New Jersey, Matthew J. Platkin. Norcross, whose entry into politics was chronicled in the fifth episode of Dead End, was once widely regarded as the most powerful unelected person in New Jersey.

The indictment says the longtime Democratic power broker led a "criminal enterprise" that used threats and extortion to promote business and political interests in his home turf of Camden County, securing lucrative tax credits and development rights along the Camden waterfront.

In this episode, host Nancy Solomon talks with WNYC’s Sean Carlson about the news.

Expect a longer episode about what this indictment means for the Sheridan case, and for New Jersey, coming soon.

Dead End host Nancy Solomon introduces us to a new, five-part investigation from the WNYC Newsroom called “Imminent Danger: One Doctor and a Trail of Injured Women.” The doctor in question — an OB/GYN named Thomas J. Byrne — was negligent and incompetent, according to officials in New York State. And yet, he is still practicing medicine today. This series explores why that is and what it says about the system for vetting doctors.

Listen to the whole series here:
Episode 1: Wrongful Death
Episode 2: License Revoked
Episode 3: The Gatekeepers
Episode 4: Loopholes
Episode 5: New York, Again

You can also read more about the series at Gothamist.

“Imminent Danger” originally ran on NYC NOW, a weekday podcast that delivers local news from WNYC and Gothamist every morning, midday and evening. Subscribe here.

The series was supported by the Pulitzer Center.

The new Attorney General for New Jersey opened an investigation into the Sheridan deaths, and another investigation into the real estate deals in Camden. While there's been no news on the murder investigation, the subpoenas are flying in Camden. State investigators appear to be looking into real estate deals on the waterfront, whether state tax breaks were given out fraudulently, and how land in Camden owned by public agencies was sold at a cut rate.

New voices in this episode:  

• Ron Chen, associate dean of Rutgers Law School and the co-chair of a task force that investigated the New Jersey tax break program.
• Jim Walden, a private attorney in New York City and a former federal prosecutor who specializes in investigative law. He was the co-chair of the task force that investigated the New Jersey tax break program.

In February 2015, the Somerset prosecutor announced that John Sheridan had murdered his wife in cold blood and then killed himself. In 2017, the manner of death was updated to “undetermined.” From the local detectives to the state’s Attorney General’s office, a lot of people walked away from these murders. If a family as powerful and well-connected as the Sheridans gets such bad treatment, what does this say about the justice system in New Jersey?

New voices interviewed in episode:

• Ben Barlyn, lawyer who filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the Chris Christie administration. 

• Peter Sheridan, younger brother of John, and a federal judge in New Jersey.

In the almost eight years since John and Joyce Sheridan were killed, five state Attorneys General have come and gone in New Jersey. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy recently nominated a new Attorney General, Matt Platkin. Last week, an email came from Platkin’s press office with surprising news.

A couple months after his parents’ deaths, Mark Sheridan comes across a paper trail: extensive email exchanges, dated memos, and handwritten notes detailing a real estate deal on the Camden waterfront. His father, John Sheridan, wrote himself a note on an envelope: “I have a duty of loyalty and good faith and I need to act in a way consistent with that responsibility." How did John act and what impact did it have?

New voice interviewed in episode:

• Jeff Pillets, an investigative reporter who spent a year at the Bergen Record looking at George Norcross and his insurance business

John Sheridan’s decision to go work at Cooper University Hospital came at a curious time. It was just months after news about the Palmyra tapes came out. The tapes caught George Norcross bullying and offering a favor to a small town official; they are a rare instance where evidence emerged of the rough and tumble side to the south Jersey political machine. An email shows Norcross' control over the state legislature and city council members in Camden explain what it means to be a "yes yes" person.

• Kelly Francis, union organizer and Camden activist

• Kevin Riordan, Philadelphia Inquirer reporter who has covered south Jersey off and on for the past 45 years

• Micah Rasmussen, director of Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Ryder University

• Tom Knoche, lecturer at Rutgers University in Camden

• Matt Katz, reporter at WNYC

• Shaneka Boucher, Camden City Councilwoman

• Marilyn Torres, Camden City Councilwoman

• Jeffrey Brenner, doctor who worked and lived in Camden during its worst years

After it becomes clear the Somerset county prosecutor’s office couldn’t have done a worse job (unless their goal was to destroy the crime scene), some 200 prominent citizens send a letter to the state attorney general asking for his office to intervene in the investigation. Despite the letter signed by the biggest names in New Jersey legal circles—including two former attorneys general and three former governors—the attorney general never gets involved. The quest to find out why takes us through a brief history of problems in New Jersey's criminal justice system.

The knife used to kill John Sheridan is just the first of many clues casting doubt on law enforcement’s conclusion of murder suicide. A newspaper crime reporter, a veteran homicide detective out of Philly, and a whistleblower point to significant pieces of evidence that have been disregarded—even thrown into a dumpster. Although Mark has the state attorney general and the county prosecutor on direct dial, he still gets stonewalled. The authorities assure the political insider that his parents had a dark secret, which will eventually come to light. Mark isn’t convinced. Instead, as he goes through his parent’s papers, he stumbles into a different fight.

New voices interviewed in episode:

• Barbara Boyer, reporter from the Philadelphia Inquirer

• Eddie Rocks, veteran homicide detective, retired from the Philadelphia police.

• Lawrence Kobilinski, professor emeritus, department of sciences at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York

• Professor Keith Taylor, professor, Department of Law, Police Science and Criminal Justice Administration, John Jay College of Criminal Justice (and a former NYPD detective)