New Jersey Democratic powerbroker George E. Norcross III filed a $100 million lawsuit Thursday against The Philadelphia Inquirer and editor Nancy Phillips, accusing the newspaper and the longtime editor of its justice and injustice team of fabricating information that helped fuel a criminal case that was later dismissed.
The lawsuit is the latest development in the Inkygate scandal involving ten pages of confidential notes from a 2019 interview by Phillips with Susan Bass Levin, the former Cherry Hill mayor and former chair of Cooper’s Ferry Partnership.
Norcross alleges that Phillips distorted or fabricated Bass Levin’s statements, then helped funnel the notes into the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, where they became part of the evidence used in the racketeering prosecution of Norcross and five associates. It is highly unusual for notes from an off-the-record meeting between a journalist and a confidential source to wind up in a prosecutor’s evidence file.
The complaint accuses Phillips and the newspaper of defamation, false light, intentional infliction of emotional distress, abuse of process and civil conspiracy. It also names unidentified people whom Norcross alleges helped move the notes or participated in the effort against him.
Norcross has pledged that any jury award or settlement from the lawsuit will be donated to public education and public safety programs in Camden, Pennsauken and Philadelphia.
The lawsuit’s central allegation is that Phillips harbored a personal animosity toward Norcross because of a bitter corporate battle over ownership of The Inquirer involving her late romantic partner, Lewis Katz, a onetime Camden County freeholder.
Norcross was part of the investment group that acquired The Inquirer in 2012. The ownership group fractured during a dispute involving Katz and H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest, leading to a court-ordered auction in which Katz acquired the newspaper and Norcross was bought out.
The complaint alleges that Phillips’ relationship with Katz created an obvious conflict of interest, but that Inquirer officials repeatedly assured Norcross’ representatives that she was not involved in coverage of him. Norcross now claims those assurances were false and that Phillips secretly directed reporting about his Camden redevelopment work, political influence, and businesses.
The complaint also alleges that Phillips previously made unsupported claims linking Norcross to the deaths. of Katz and John and Joyce Sheridan. The lawsuit cites those allegations as evidence of what it characterizes as Phillips’ longstanding hostility toward him.
Phillips’ 2019 interview with Bass Levin is at the center of the case.
At the time, Bass Levin chaired Cooper’s Ferry Partnership and led the Cooper Foundation. Norcross was chairman of Cooper University Health Care’s board and worked closely with her.
Phillips’ typewritten notes portrayed Norcross as a dominant and abusive figure in the fight over the L3 waterfront complex in Camden. The notes attributed statements to Bass Levin that Norcross had openly berated Sheridan and sought to remove Cooper’s Ferry executives David Foster and Anthony Perno.
The complaint alleges that Phillips either invented or substantially distorted those statements.
Norcross’ lawyers point to a September 2023 meeting in which Bass Levin gave prosecutors a sharply different account. She described her relationship with Norcross as “cordial and professional” and said she respected his political knowledge and acumen.
When prosecutors raised an allegation that Norcross had berated Sheridan over the L3 transaction, Bass Levin reportedly said she did not remember it, believed it was untrue, and would not use the word “berated.”
The notes were later turned over to Norcross’ defense team during discovery in the criminal case. They were stored in an electronic file labeled “Stier Documents,” an apparent reference to Edwin Stier, a former state and federal prosecutor with ties to the Attorney General’s Office who The Inquirer frequently quoted.
The newspaper has acknowledged that Phillips’ notes reached state prosecutors but has denied that either Phillips or The Inquirer directly provided them to the Attorney General’s Office. Executive editor Gabriel Escobar said the newspaper was never subpoenaed for the notes and did not turn them over.
Escobar also said the newspaper did not know how the notes reached the state. The Inquirer has reported that Phillips shared the notes with a third party for reasons unrelated to assisting law enforcement, but that prosecutors did not receive them directly from her.
The complaint alleges that the notes were transmitted in violation of Pennsylvania and New Jersey shield laws and that the newspaper effectively operated as an undisclosed investigative arm of state prosecutors.
The notes became part of the state’s case against Norcross, which began with a 13-count indictment announced by then-Attorney General Matt Platkin on June 17, 2024. Prosecutors alleged that Norcross and his associates used political influence and threats to control Camden waterfront development and secure state tax incentives.
Mercer County Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw dismissed the indictment in February 2025. The Appellate Division unanimously affirmed that decision, and Attorney General Jennifer Davenport declined to seek review by the New Jersey Supreme Court, ending the prosecution.
The complaint also cites a text Phillips sent to Norcross’ daughter, Lexie, on the afternoon the indictment was announced.
“Thinking of you today,” Phillips wrote at 3:21 p.m. on June 17, 2024.
Norcross’ lawsuit describes the message as evidence that Phillips “couldn’t hide her sadistic pleasure, openly reveling in the criminal charges she had spent months helping to orchestrate against her father.”
The suit follows litigation-hold notices sent in July to seven current and former Inquirer journalists and editors, including Phillips, Escobar, Andrew Seidman and Catherine Dunn. The notices directed them to preserve notes, emails, text messages and other records related to Norcross, Camden and the criminal investigation.
Joseph R. Podraza Jr., a Philadelphia lawyer, represents Norcross and has successfully sued The Inquirer before.
Escobar did not respond to an email seeking comment.
RELATED ARTICLES
-
-
October 16, 2020 -
October 23, 2022