Camden mayor addresses Norcross indictment at Bergen Square ceremony

CAMDEN — An indictment alleging crimes by political insiders involved in past development projects doesn't reflect the city's current practices, Mayor Vic Carstarphen said Wednesday.

"Whatever opinion people have, I'm telling you that (indictment) doesn't resemble what we're doing every day, working hard for our community," Carstarphen said at a ceremony noting the removal of a massive pile of toxic soil from the Bergen Square neighborhood.

The mayor prefaced his remarks by noting Camden's gains from George Norcross III, a Democratic power broker accused in the indictment of racketeering and other offenses.

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"You know, there's a lot of contributions, endless contributions," said Carstarphen, adding "a lot of the renaissance that's here (came) from people that cared about Camden, like him."

"And saying that, there were some unsealed documents that were opened yesterday, and by no means does that resemble the realities of what we're seeing on the ground here in Camden every day," the mayor continued.

In the 13-count, 111-page indictment, the Attorney General's Office contends Norcross and others used coercion, extortion and other criminal acts to acquire property, development rights and tax credits for Waterfront development projects.

Defendants in the case include a former mayor, Dana Redd.

An attorney for Norcross described the pending prosecution as "tortured and unfair."

Norcross reacted to the indictment by noting previous praise for his work in Camden from figures like former President Barack Obama and multiple governors.

Carstarphen declined additional comment on the indictment after taking a question from the media at the Bergen Square event.

"I don't want to belabor that today," he said. "Today is not what that's all about."

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Carstarphen: Norcross indictment 'doesn't resemble' today's practices