In what might be the most politically consequential public corruption case in state history, the New Jersey Attorney General’s office is bringing in a seasoned former federal corruption prosecutor to supervise the state’s prosecution of Democratic powerbroker George E. Norcross and others.
Eric L. Gibson, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, is the new co-director of the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability with the rank of Assistant Attorney General. He will supervise another Assistant Attorney General, Andrew Wellbrock, the lead prosecutor in the Norcross case.
The move comes at a time when the embattled OPIA faces scrutiny for grievous mistakes, allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, and questions about their ability to bring a major case to trial and win a conviction.
“The cases prosecuted by the Corruption Bureau tend to be high-profile, high-stakes, and complex,” said Attorney General Matt Platkin. “The prosecution team frequently finds itself in the spotlight as it holds powerful individuals and institutions accountable. Having these two individuals and their long histories dealing with those challenges, including at the Department of Justice, will be a tremendous asset to the people of New Jersey.”
Gibson spent eleven years as an Assistant Philadelphia District Attorney and nearly seventeen years with the Department of Justice, where he spent six years as the deputy chief of the Corruption and Civil Rights section.
He successfully prosecuted former Rep. Ozzie Myers, who had gone to prison in the 1980s after his conviction in the Abscam trial, on election fraud charges. Myers admitted his role in a ballot-stuffing scheme and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. He won a conviction against a Philadelphia congressman, Chaka Fattah, on corruption charges, and against Philadelphia Democratic political consultant Kenneth Smukler on federal campaign finance violations.
In 2022, Gibson prosecuted Philadelphia City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson on bribery charges. Defense attorneys accused the government of prosecutorial overreach and argued that Gibson’s case lacked evidence, was based on inference, and “cherry-picked” facts to fit their narrative. Jurors deliberated for less than four hours before acquitting Johnson.
He left the U.S. Attorney’s office two months later and began a two-year stint as chair of the Internal Investigations and White Collar Defense practice at Post & Schell, a Philadelphia law firm.
“Public corruption sows distrust, disillusionment, and outrage in the public – a sense that the government doesn’t represent or work for the people, but takes advantage of them,” Gibson stated. “That is why it is so critical to hold offenders to account.”
Norcross, a powerful figure in New Jersey politics for the last 35 years, was indicted in June on charges that he used “threats and fear” to obtain property rights along the Camden waterfront and influenced legislation that led to tax breaks for his business and the non-profit Cooper University Health Care, where he served as chairman.
But Michael Critchley, Norcross’ attorney, argues that the 111-page indictment contains no crime, saying the “only threats alleged are nothing more than everyday, hardball business negotiations.”
The hiring of Gibson appears to sideline the other OPIA co-director, Jeffrey Manis, from the Norcross case. Manis tried the state’s case against Osher Eisemann, a popular Lakewood Rabbi. Superior Court Judge Joseph Paone dismissed the indictment in August after the state had rested its prosecution, determining that prosecutors failed to prove their allegations of money laundering and official misconduct.
Gibson has not yet been admitted to the New Jersey Bar.