Slamming the embattled Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, lawyers representing William Tambussi accused Attorney General Matt Platkin of “attempting to criminalize the routine practice of law” and asked a judge to dismiss the indictment of the South Jersey power lawyer.
“If OPIA’s indictment is allowed to stand, no New Jersey attorney would be safe from prosecution,” lawyers Jeff Chiesa and Lee Vartan said in a court filing today. “Routine lawyering is not a crime. And the AG certainly cannot make it a crime by telling the grand jury falsehoods and half-truths.”
They allege the OPIA “made material misrepresentations to the grand jury and withheld exculpatory evidence to secure its indictment.”
“Unfortunately, this has become a pattern with OPIA,” Chiesa and Vartan said.
“William Tambussi has been a pillar of the New Jersey legal community for decade,” the lawyers said. “To be clear, this is what happened here: Bill Tambussi was prosecuted because he represented George Norcross. OPIA admitted as much in its indictment.”
The lawyers said Tambussi is “barely mentioned” in the 111-page indictment.
“When he is mentioned, his ‘criminal’ acts are legal research for a contemplated declaratory judgment action and arguing a pretrial motion before the Superior Court,” they said. “If allowed to stand, the potential impact of the AG’s indictment would be as sweeping as it is chilling on the profession.”
Tambussi is the longtime personal attorney for George E. Norcross III, the primary focus of the state’s prosecution. Norcross moved to dismiss the indictment on Tuesday, insisting that no crime was committed.
In the filing, Chiesa and Vartan stated “the only way the AG could criminalize the routine practice of law was to repeatedly chip away at the integrity of the grand jury process.”
“The AG made it look like Tambussi was directing a public agency [the Camden Redevelopment Authority] to take obviously incorrect legal positions to benefit George Norcross,” they said in their brief. “But the AG knew he was not.”
They claimed the attorney general suggested that Superior Court Judge Steven Polansky might be corrupt and part of the “Norcross Enterprise.”
Among the arguments posited by Chiesa and Vartan is that the indictment alleged only two illegal acts by Tambussi: that he research a possible matter for litigation that his client was never required to file, and that he filed timely motions in advance of a different trial.
“That’s it,” the lawyers said. “If OPIA is allowed to criminalize the routine practice of law in the way the indictment attempts, any attorney out-of-favor with the attorney general could be prosecuted.”
Chiesa is a former U.S. Senator, New Jersey Attorney General and assistant U.S. Attorney. Vartan is a former executive assistant attorney general and assistant U.S. attorney, as well as a critic of the OPIA.
Peter Warshaw, the presiding criminal court judge in Mercer County, is expected to rule on the motions early next year.
A spokesperson for the New Jersey Attorney General’s office explained that “defense motions to dismiss are expected in criminal cases.”
“We are confident in our charges and look forward to responding in our briefs to the court,” the spokesperson said.