STORY & PHOTOS BY LEV D. ZILBERMINTS
TRENTON / NEW BRUNSWICK – William M. Tambussi, a long-time member of Rutgers University Board of Governors, has been indicted by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin on Monday, June 17.
The 13 – count indictment, comprising a record 111 pages, charges New Jersey political kingpin George Norcross III; William M. Tambussi; Philip A. Norcross, George’s brother; Dana Redd, former Camden mayor, current CEO of Camden Community Partnership; Sidney Brown, CEO of trucking and logistics company NFI; and John O’Donnell, CEO of real estate company The Michaels Organization, with racketeering.
Court papers call the group of defendants “the Norcross Enterprise.”
According to court papers and https://nj.biz.com, Platkin alleges that from as early as 2012 through the present, the defendants, as part of “The Norcross Enterprise”:
- Committed unlawful acts and used power and influence to obtain property and property rights on the Camden Waterfront;
- Collected millions of dollars in government – issued tax credits;
- Controlled and influenced government officials to further the interests of “the enterprise”;
- Crafted legislation tailored to serve the interests of “the enterprise.”
“And with the cooperation of then – Camden Mayor Dana Redd and other officials, used parts of the city’s government to aid the enterprise in acquiring property and property rights for itself and others through coercion, extortion, and other criminal acts,” the Attorney General said on June 17 at the press conference in Trenton.
William M. Tambussi is an attorney and partner at Brown & Connery law firm as well as a longtime personal attorney of George Norcross.
June 20 Rutgers University Board of Governors meeting
At the June 20 Board of Governors meeting in Rutgers New Brunswick’s historic Winants Hall, members of the community protested against William Tambussi.
“Local Talk” saw at least half a dozen representatives from the Working Families Party holding red-and-white signs that read “Tambussi Must Go!”. The large pro-Palestinian protesters group also supported the WFP on this.
Kelly Dittmar, Rutgers – Camden Chapter Vice President of AAUP – AFT Executive Council, spoke at the June 20 Board of Governors meeting.
According to the New Brunswick Today video posted on YouTube the same day as the meeting, Tambussi is not fit to serve on the Board of Governors. The transcribed remarks are from the video.
According to Ms. Dittmar, “Every member (of the Board of Governors) should be qualified to serve in their roles and committed to the University’s mission, including serving the people of Camden and of New Jersey. They should be committed to executing the responsibilities of this body and representing the University honorably outside of these walls.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Tambussi falls short on all of those fronts. While he has been appointed to represent Camden on this Board, he has not been a resident of our Camden County since June 2022 and is thus ineligible for the seat based on the conditions of his appointment. To make matters worse, Mr. Tambussi has now been indicted for criminally preying on Camden residents, the very community that he is supposed to represent on this Board.
“For the record, our Camden faculty, students and staff have repeatedly pushed the university to address these inequities across campuses as well as to do better in supporting and uplifting the Camden community.
“This is impossible when we don’t have legitimate representation on this body and even worse when one of its members embodies the very disrespect for Camden that has for too long permeated the university.
“As a faculty union will continue to fight for Camden, our campus and the broader community and that includes calling clearly and repeatedly for the immediate resignation or removal of Mr. Tambussi from the Board of Governors.”
Antoinette Miles, State Director of the New Jersey branch of Working Families Party, was the next speaker. Ms. Miles roundly criticized the Board of Governors for not doing anything to remove William M. Tambussi from his position.
“I am coming before you today because of the egregious conduct of a member of the Board of Governors and the threat that conduct poses to Rutgers University. As you have no doubt seen, Board of Governors member Bill Tambussi earlier this week was indicted in one of the most sweeping public corruption investigations in New Jersey history.
“New Jersey deserves to have better representation on the Board of Governors and the officers that are being elected today are supposed to uphold these values.
“We have seen the hire of Tambussi as a personal attorney to political boss George Norcross. Played an integral role and is accused of being part of the scheme and a broader enterprise to enrich political allies. And of course, against the wishes of Camden residents themselves.”
Ms. Miles called for the resignation of Mr. Tambussi from all of his positions on the different boards of various schools.
“That is why today we are asking that Bill Tambussi directly step down from his position as member of this Board (of Governors of Rutgers University) in addition to the joint Board of Rutgers University, Camden, Rowan University Board of Governors and the Rutgers Camden Board of Directors.
“You need to protect the reputation of this public institution. If he does not resign on his own, it is important that this body and that administration of Rutgers University explore every avenue for removing him including by withdrawing opposition to ongoing litigation by the Rutgers AAUP-AFT labor union.”
Lawsuit brought by faculty union in Superior Court to remove William Tambussi from the Board of Governors
According to a January 31, 2024 article on nj.com, the union representing the Rutgers faculty filed a lawsuit in Middlesex County Superior Court asking that two members who are illegally holding the Board of Governors position be removed.
The two illegal members are William M. Tambussi and Heather C. Taylor.
According to the January 31, 2024 nj.com article, both BOG members are clearly violating a state law that requires they be residents of Camden and Middlesex County, respectively.
According to the nj.com article, “Residency requirements for Board of Governors members were put in place by the state’s 2012 Higher Education Restructuring Act as a means of ensuring that the interests of each of the school’s three campuses and the broader communities they serve, were represented on the Board.
Yet Tambussi and Taylor both moved out of their respective counties in 2022, leaving Camden and Middlesex Counties without proper representation on the governing board of the state’s premier public university.”
Remarks of Faculty Union President
According to the January 31, 2024 nj.com article, Todd Wolfson, president of Rutgers AAUP – AFT, the union that filed the lawsuit along with faculty members who live in Camden and Middlesex Counties, “We are deeply troubled, but not surprised, that two members of the Rutgers Board of Governors have violated easy – to – understand residency laws for two years. This blatant disregard for the law is par for the course for an institution that has repeatedly failed to provide oversight and ensure transparency about the operations of the state’s leading public university – and that has presided over gaping inequities at the Camden and Newark campuses. Because the Board of Governors has yet again failed to police itself, we are forced to take action. We hope that the lawsuit filed today (January 30) will lead to the appointment of new members of the Board of Governors who take their obligation to act as a check on an out-of-control bureaucracy.”
When did William M. Tambussi and Heather A. Taylor move out of their respective counties?
According to the January 31 nj.com article, “Tambussi sold his home in Haddon Heights, Camden County, on June 12, 2022, according to property records.
“Those property records list his new address as an apartment in the Curtis Center, a luxury apartment building in Philadelphia that overlooks Independence Hall and the tony Washington Square Park. Meanwhile, Tambussi registered to vote at a home he owned in Brigantine, Atlantic County, a few days before the sale of his Haddon Heights home closed.
“Tambussi was first appointed to the Board of Governors in 2014…
“While Tambussi’s term on the Board of Governors is up later this year, this lawsuit will prevent Tambussi from claiming that he can serve on the body as a holdover appointee – a position Tambussi has served in before.
“Taylor, who was appointed by the Board of Trustees in 2019, sold her North Brunswick, Middlesex County home on October 16, 2020, according to county property records. She changed her voter registration on January 22, 2022 to her new home address in Manasquan, Monmouth County.”
Philip A. Norcross’s lawyer is Kevin Marino, who himself is being sued by Kelli Nyre for sexual harassment. Mr. Marino was previously the chair of Seton Hall University’s Board of Regents. Ms. Nyre is the wife of Joseph Nyre, ex-President of Seton Hall University.
“Local Talk” covered the lawsuits by the Nyres against SHU earlier this year, in February.
Penalties for the offenses listed in the indictment
According to https://www.insidernj.com/george-norcross-charged-in-racketeering-case/ online article dated June 17, 2024, “All of the offenses charged in the 111 – page indictment are violations of the first and second degrees. First – degree charges carry a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison and a fine of up to $200,000. The crime of first-degree racketeering is subject to the No Early Release Act, and thus carries a mandatory 85% parole disqualifier. It also exposes criminal defendants to the potential for additional financial penalties – including the forfeiture of ill-gotten proceeds from their criminal activity – which, as the indictment makes clear, the State intends to seek in this case. Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000. The offense of official misconduct carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years for public officials convicted of that offense related to their office.
“These charges and allegations are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.”
