Dead End: Crime and Politics

Friends of Dead End, Nancy Solomon here. This Wednesday I’m hosting an event at WNYC – at 7 pm. It’s all about the history of FEMA – the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a recent series by On The Media.

After years of reporting on far-right militias, co-host Micah Loewinger knew that extremist groups often showed up after natural disasters to recruit, fundraise, and spit-shine their public image. But it wasn’t clear why they hated FEMA so much. After digging around in right-wing media archives, it became clear that the anti-FEMA lore went back decades.

The four-part investigation examines how the agency tasked with saving America became so distrusted, despised, and defunded and, looking to the future, how the agency will be reshaped during the Trump administration.

On Wednesday, I get to interview Micah and producer Eloise Blondiau about the making of the series. We’ll be joined by a former FEMA staffer. I’m really excited for the conversation – and I hope you’ll come join me in person. 

Get a ticket at wnyc.org/events. 

Listen to the first episode of the series from On the Media (https://zpr.io/qQF7rfdJa4xF)

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They were trusted educators and respected coaches. But in the summer of 2025, twin brothers Ronnie and Donnie Stoner were indicted on more than 50 charges related to child sex abuse allegations. A group of young women say the abuse stretched back nearly two decades. So what took so long? This is the story of those women who say they survived the abuse, took matters into their own hands and are still fighting for the girls they used to be.
 

Dig is produced by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting and Louisville Public Media. Listen to all four episodes of the season here.

It’s been eight months since the New Jersey State Attorney General indicted George Norcross on racketeering, extortion and political corruption charges. The 111-page indictment alleged that Norcross and his brother Phil ran a criminal enterprise that used political power to force individuals to give up their development rights on the Camden waterfront. 

But that case has hit a roadblock.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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