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George Norcross. Similar to George Soros. They both avoided high profile candidates running expensive campaigns for President, Governor, or U.S. Senator. They both invested in little known candidates for little known offices. Norcross specialized in candidates for small cities, towns, counties, and school districts.
Click Here For Link To Details In Previous Post: Does Norcross Indictment Clear Path For Endless New Taxes To Bail Out NJ Pensions? – Liberty and Prosperity
I personally paid for George Norcross politics when wanted to pave the small driveway of my law office in Somers Point, NJ. Norcross supported Democratic Party candidates who took control of the city government. In return, the new city officials replaced the local city engineer with one in Camden County who was connected to Norcross. I had to pay hundreds of dollars extra for the new city engineer to drive down from Camden County to inspect my property and my plans and meet with local officials.
This “pay to play” politics has been normal in New Jersey for years.
Political insiders also get rich from the “redevelopment racket”. When politicians running a city, town, or government authority declare properties to be “in need of redevelopment”, they give themselves four important powers:
- Get rid of all zoning laws affecting the property, and great new zoning laws for just that property.
- Give special tax breaks to the properties.
- Take properties by “eminent domain” if owners refuse to sell.
- Select the contractors and professionals to run the project.
It is very easy for political insiders to make lots of money with that power. Last week, George Norcross was charged with illegally using that redevelopment power in Camden back in 2011 and 2012 to make lots of money.
In 2001, Norcross helped his boyhood friend Steve Sweeney raise $1.9 million to become a NJ State Senator by defeating Raymond Zane, a longtime incumbent. Norcross also helped raise another $457,000 for a joint political committee that also supported John Burzichelli for the Assembly. That was the most money ever spent on a political campaign for a legislative seat until that time.
In 2009, George Norcross helped form a statewide coalition that made Steve Sweeney President of the New Jersey Senate, the second most powerful position in state government.
However, in 2016, the powerful NJEA teacher’s union turned on Sweeney and Norcross. They were angry at both for not supporting a state constitutional amendment to bail out insolvent NJ government employee pensions.
In New Jersey, there is zero connection between how much public employees pay into pension funds and how much they get when they retire. Their pensions are based on how much they earn during the last few years before they retire.
When I was on City Council in Atlantic City in 1980’s, it was normal for lifeguards to work for small salaries for 10 weeks during the summer. However, they would get big promotions and then work year-round just before they retired to “juice up” their pensions. Public school teacher salaries were structured to give big pay hikes just before retirements. Police officers were often given big promotions and pay hikes just before retirement. The classic case is Robert Codey, the brother of former Senate President and acting Governor Richard Codey. He was a lawyer who earned roughly $45,000 per year for most of his career. However, he was appointed to 3 high paid acting county prosecutor positions just before he retired and juiced up his pension to more than $90,000 per year! Both Republicans and Democrats knew the pension funds were insolvent since the 1990’s.
During the 1990’s, Republican Governor Christie Todd Whitman tried to fix New Jersey pensions funds by borrowing pension money and putting it in the stock market. The stock market crashed soon afterwards.
From 2010 to 2016, Republican Governor Chris Christie used politically connected hedge funds to invest pension funds in risky investments. It appears that one of those investments was the building of the Revel Casino in Atlantic City. It was built at a cost of $2.8 billion. However, it failed within two years, and was sold to Florida investor Glenn Straub for roughly $200 million, less then ten cents on the dollar. The property was later sold to the current owners of the Ocean Casino in Atlantic City.
In 2016, NJ adopted a state constitutional amendment to bail out the insolvent state highway trust fund. As a result, we have automatic toll and gas tax hikes to pay junk bonds issued by the trust fund years ago.
In 2016, the NJEA Teacher’s Union demanded a similar state constitutional amendment to bail out the state pension funds. They wanted a new statewide real estate tax on top of existing property taxes that now pay for local government, county government and public schools. That new state real estate would increase every year when needed to guarantee 100% payment of all pensions.
In 2016 and 2017, NJ Senate President Steve Sweeney refused to let the State Senate approve that Constitutional Amendment and submit it to voters. The NJEA Teacher’s union then spent more than $5 million on a Republican Tea Party candidate from Salem County to try to defeat Sweeney in 2017. However, Sweeney won re-election with millions of dollars more raised by George Norcross
In 2021, Sweeney was defeated by Republican Ed Durr “The Trucker” in a low budget “stealth” campaign. Did the NJEA help defeat Sweeney then?
In 2023, George Norcross helped Democrat John Burzichelli, his friend and ally defeat Ed Durr and take back Steve Sweeney’s State Senate seat. Last December, Sweeney became a Democratic Party candidate for Governor with the help of George Norcross. Last week, the NJ Attorney General for Democratic Governor Phil Murphy indicted George Norcross for alleged political corruption that took place in 2011 and 2012.
So called ‘June Teenth’. Press of AC. National holiday. Pride month. Creates hatred / separation amongst groups. Divide America.
Holiday paid for by taxpayers.
Ocean City had 12 people show up.
This holiday does nothing but divide Americans, give employees of government and big corporations another day off with pay, and creates taxpayer funded slush funds to hold “free” events that very few people attend.
Juneteenth is promoted as a “Black” holiday even though European and American whites were mostly responsible for ending slavery. Slavery existed in almost every nation and every culture in the world until white European and American Christians ended it. Christian Europe ended slavery in the Middle Ages when Muslims warriors and sea pirates expanded their slave capturing operations in Africa, Asia and the high seas. America ended slavery in northern states and federal territories between 1778 and 1802. America stopped importing new slaves in 1808 and American warships like those commanded by Robert Stockton, grandson of Richard Stockton captured slave trading ships and freed their slaves. Whites helped thousands of black slaves escape through the Underground Railroad in the 1840’s and 1850s. They also kept slavery out of Kansas, Nebraska and California. Some 310,000 whites and 40,000 Blacks died to end slavery during the Civil War 1861 to 1865. Yet none of this is mentioned in any Juneteenth events.
New Law Introduced by NJ State Legislature: No more pay for those who distribute and collect mail-in or messenger ballots. Unless they work for non-profit organizations like the ones paid by George Soros and others to bring in illegal aliens/migrants.
