TRENTON, March 31 - In a series of secretly recorded conversations, the Democratic power broker George E. Norcross III made threats, discussed patronage jobs and offered vaguely worded inducements to persuade a small-town councilman to fire a defiant municipal employee. The conversations were on audio tapes released on Thursday by the New Jersey attorney general's office. The tapes, which were recorded in early 2001 by a Palmyra councilman, John Gural, offer a rare glimpse of the volatile but media-shy Mr. Norcross flexing his political muscle: bragging about his access to powerful elected officials like United States Senator Jon S. Corzine...