A New Jersey appellate court has rejected a lawsuit filed by George Norcross that attempted to shut down an investigation of his company’s tax breaks.  

The lawsuit tried to stop a task force appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy from looking into tax breaks awarded to businesses that moved to Camden, N.J. by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.  A state program administered by the EDA awarded more than a $1 billion dollars in tax breaks to companies that are affiliated with Norcross in varying degrees. 

The appellate court affirmed a lower court ruling from June 2019, finding the governor had a legitimate reason to create a task force to investigate the tax breaks, and that Norcross and his business associates were not unfairly singled out for investigation by the task force appointed by the governor.

"The fact that they do not portray plaintiffs in a positive light does not cast doubt on the lawfulness of its investigation,” the appellate court wrote in the decision. 

Norcross is the unelected Democratic Party boss of South Jersey and considered one of the most powerful people in New Jersey.