Longtime Democrat New Jersey political kingmaker George Norcross has been charged with racketeering, along with his brother Phillip and four other defendants in a 13-count indictment, CNBC News reported on Monday.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, also a Democrat, filed the indictment, accusing the defendants of using their political influence over many years through extortion and threats.
Norcross, who has long been the subject of scrutiny by law enforcement and a political task force, but has never been charged, "led a criminal enterprise whose members and associates agreed the enterprise would extort others through threats and fear of economic and reputational harm and commit other criminal offenses to achieve the enterprise's goals," according to the indictment, Politico reported.
Norcross has had tremendous influence in New Jersey politics for decades, even though he has never held an elected office. He is an insurance broker by profession but built up what is known as the South Jersey machine, a Democrat political coalition considered one of the strongest in the state.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported last year that investigators had issued several subpoenas and carried out dozens of interviews connected to the acquisition of parcels of real estate in Camden, New Jersey, by Norcross and his allies and alleged attempts to prevent potential rivals from competing.
The indictment against Norcross threatens both his political legacy and the story line he has helped to build over the last decade of Camden's comeback from decades of poverty and financial disinvestment.
It also threatens to shake up New Jersey's political map ahead of the state's gubernatorial race next year. Among the Democrats running for governor, with the backing of Norcross, is his childhood friend and one of his closest political allies, former state Senate President Stephen Sweeney.