Judge Dismisses Racketeering Charges Against Top Democratic Power Broker

A New Jersey judge on Wednesday dismissed racketeering charges against George Norcross III, an insurance executive who for decades was one of the state’s most powerful Democratic kingmakers and who had been accused of rigging a lucrative tax-credit deal in Camden, N.J.

The decision by a judge to dismiss a 13-count indictment, before trial, was a stunning blow to the New Jersey attorney general’s office, led by Matthew J. Platkin, who last year brought charges against Mr. Norcross and several other powerful officials, including Mr. Norcross’s brother and the former mayor of Camden, Dana L. Redd.

The judge, Peter E. Warshaw Jr., wrote that the indictment “must be dismissed because its factual allegations do not constitute extortion or criminal coercion as a matter of law.”

He concluded that there was no evidence of a racketeering conspiracy and that even if there were, the charges were brought too many years after the crimes alleged and were therefore “time-barred.”

Mr. Platkin said that he planned to appeal the decision.

“I have never promised that these cases would be easy, because too many have come to view corruption as simply the way the powerful do business in New Jersey,” he said in a statement. “That corruption has consequences: It breeds a loss of trust in government and in our public servants, at a time when we must work to protect and restore faith in our institutions.”

Mr. Norcross, 68, built his political power base in Camden, where he was raised. He was a member of the Democratic National Committee until 2021, and for decades he was the most feared and powerful unelected political official in New Jersey.