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.

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.