Posted on 03/27/2005 7:16:07 PM PST by neverdem
TRENTON, March 25 - After countless newspaper headlines and snide pop-culture references about the misdeeds of New Jersey politicians, it has become conventional wisdom to assume that the state is controlled by a handful of self-interested political bosses.
Many New Jersey political leaders insist that the reputation is undeserved and argue that the state's public servants are no more mercenary than their counterparts elsewhere. Still, decisions involving the intersection of politics, government policy and private interest are usually made so far from public view that there are few actual opportunities to watch government in action.
A court fight in Burlington County may soon offer the public a new glimpse inside the workings of New Jersey politics, however. Despite objections from the attorney general's office, a state Superior Court judge has ordered the state to release secretly recorded audiotapes of conversations involving George E. Norcross III, the Camden County Democrat who is one of the state's most influential power brokers.
The tapes were recorded in January 2001 by John Gural, then a councilman in Palmyra in Burlington County. Mr. Gural has accused Mr. Norcross of making threats and offering bribes in an attempt to pressure him into replacing a local official, Ted Rosenberg, with one of Mr. Norcross's political acolytes.
An investigation by the attorney general's office ended with no criminal charges against Mr. Norcross, but Mr. Rosenberg and Mr. Gural are urging the state to release the tapes, contending that they offer the public a shocking and valuable education in the arm-twisting and greed that they say fuel New Jersey politics.
"George Norcross is known as the most powerful political boss in New Jersey, and these tapes show why," said Mr. Gural, who is now mayor of Palmyra. "He maneuvers behind the scenes to enrich himself, and if you cross him, he'll threaten to destroy you."
The attorney general's office has appealed the judge's ruling, saying that information in the tapes could compromise other inquiries. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Tuesday in State Superior Court in Burlington County.
Mr. Rosenberg's legal effort to have the tapes released has been joined by an assortment of news organizations, including The New York Times. Mr. Rosenberg has also received support from another, unlikely, ally: Mr. Norcross. William Tambussi, a lawyer for the Camden County Democratic Organization, said the tapes offered vivid proof that Mr. Norcross was guilty of nothing more than being a forceful advocate for South Jersey residents.
Mr. Tambussi contends that the legal dispute is simply a vendetta because Mr. Norcross did not support Mr. Gural and Mr. Rosenberg in various political races. "Their failed political ambitions made them start this whole campaign of vengeance," Mr. Tambussi said.
As the fight over the tapes has intensified, the public scrutiny has clearly irritated Mr. Norcross, whose avoidance of the spotlight has allowed him to remain something of an enigma, even as he has built successful careers as both a businessman and a political kingmaker.
With his neatly coiffed silver hair and fine tailored suits, Mr. Norcross looks perfectly cast in his role as the chairman and chief executive of insurance services at Commerce Bank. Still, he is noted for a quick temper, a reminder of his upbringing as the son of a South Jersey labor leader who excelled in the bruising battles of Democratic ward politics.
Although he has never run for office and no longer holds a title in the party, Mr. Norcross has used his Camden County base and business connections to become a prodigious fund-raiser and consummate Democratic insider.
The candidates whose campaigns he has helped bankroll have won important positions in local and county governments across South Jersey and within the State Legislature, making Mr. Norcross a key figure in a maze of government entities. He has influence with an assortment of labor leaders, municipal lawyers, elected officials and fund-raisers.
During the first year of James E. McGreevey's tenure as governor, Mr. Norcross could occasionally be seen slipping into the governor's office through Mr. McGreevey's private entrance.
And in 2002, he was accused of shoving Senate President John O. Bennett, a Republican, during an argument about financing for a stadium. Mr. Norcross's spokesman, Richard McGrath, said later that the discussion was heated but involved no physical confrontation.
However one ultimately interprets the tapes, both sides acknowledge that they offer new examples of Mr. Norcross's combustible side.
Mr. Gural said the dispute began in 2000, when he backed Mr. Rosenberg's bid to become chairman of the Burlington County Democratic organization against a candidate being supported by Mr. Norcross. Mr. Gural said that several months later, executives at the engineering firm where he worked, JCA Associates, urged him to fire Mr. Rosenberg from his job as Palmyra town solicitor.
"They said that George Norcross helped steer business to the company, and we couldn't afford to have him angry," Mr. Gural said in an interview last week.
Mr. Gural filed a complaint with the attorney general's office, and then was rigged with a concealed recording device and taped 330 hours of conversations with company officials and politicians. During those conversations, Mr. Gural said he was offered an appointed political position if he would fire Mr. Rosenberg. Later, he said, JCA executives told Mr. Gural he would receive a cut of government contracts from Mr. Norcross if he would fire Mr. Rosenberg.
Mr. Gural taped three conversations with Mr. Norcross, totaling about two hours. In the course of those discussions, Mr. Gural said, Mr. Norcross bragged about having influence with Mr. McGreevey and Senator Jon S. Corzine, and boasted that he could win political appointments for allies and destroy the careers of his enemies.
Mr. Gural asserts that during a Jan. 29, 2001, conversation, Mr. Norcross acknowledged that he had approved the plan to give him a cut of the contract.
"We'd like to see you derive a little bit of that benefit," Mr. Norcross said, according to a transcript of the tape provided by Mr. Gural.
Mr. Tambussi acknowledged that Mr. Norcross spoke those words, but said Mr. Gural was assigning them sinister and patently false meaning. Mr. Tambussi said that Mr. Norcross was simply wishing Mr. Gural success in his future endeavors and was not referring to any contract with JCA or action involving Mr. Rosenberg.
"George never offered to steer extra work to the company, and he didn't control JCA," Mr. Tambussi said. "So it's ludicrous to think he could control what they did."
The investigation ended with three executives from JCA pleading guilty to charges of tax and campaign finance violations.
Mr. Gural, who never fired Mr. Rosenberg, said the most chilling moment of the investigation came when Mr. Norcross said he wanted Mr. Rosenberg "dead." Mr. Tambussi said Mr. Norcross was using a colorful but harmless figure of speech that is commonly used in locker rooms, bars and political circles.
Compounding the intrigue surrounding the tapes is the fact that - unbeknownst to investigators from the attorney general's office - Mr. Gural wore a second tape recorder during part of the operation and made his own copies of the conversations.
Mr. Gural said he believed the attorney general's office was withholding the tapes out of deference to Mr. Norcross. But Mr. Tambussi said the attorney general's office was shielding itself from embarrassment because Mr. Gural taped state investigators making derogatory statements about Mr. Norcross and was trying to entrap Mr. Norcross.
Mr. Tambussi said he hoped that the public disclosure would ultimately help assure the public that the concept of the New Jersey political boss is a myth. In recent months, Mr. Norcross's name has surfaced in the federal corruption trial involving Commerce Bank officials and politicians in Philadelphia, a civil suit filed by Commerce Bank shareholders and a dispute involving a parking garage in Atlantic City that ultimately cost the state $12 million in a legal settlement.
Mr. Norcross has not been charged with wrongdoing in any of those cases, and his lawyer, Mr. Tambussi, says the reason is simple: Mr. Norcross has become so successful that people invoke his name without his knowledge, to threaten or intimidate others.
"Its one of the perils of being a high-profile advocate of things you believe in," Mr. Tambussi said. "People use your name, without authorization, for the benefit they hope it brings to their cause. Sometimes they use it as a shield, and sometimes they use it as a sword."
ping
If the taxpayers paid for the tapes, it is clear that they own them.
Or perhaps the politicians would like to serve on a volunteer basis if they are sufficiently dedicated.
Time to vote the rats out of NJ. FReeep'em out!!!!
Given what we know of McGreevey's proclivities, this is a poor choice of words.
Can I get a "so to speak" from you
LOL!
What choice do New Jersey residents have in the current political system? Politics in the Garden State is a perennial contest between Tony Soprano type Democrats and Thurston Howell III type Republicans. What is worse, both parties are liberal, although the RINOs are somewhat more business friendly.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.