Grassroots Advocates to Demand Political Boss Resign as Head of Cooper Hospital in Wake of Unfolding Scandal

What: South Jersey good-government advocates are holding a press conference to demand that South Jersey political power broker George Norcross resign from the board of Cooper University Health Care following a series of scandals.

These scandals have, according to news reports, prompted state and local criminal investigations, as well as scrutiny from a task force appointed by Governor Phil Murphy to examine New Jersey’s troubled tax incentives program.

Recent news reports have shown that:

·         Norcross and his brother Phil muscled a local Camden non-profit out of a deal to buy a key parcel along the Camden waterfront. They instead steered the property, which was owned by the state, to friendly developers who have leased part of the land to Cooper.

·         The governor’s task force has raised serious questions about Cooper’s threat to relocate jobs to Philadelphia in order to receive $40 million worth of state tax breaks.

·         Cooper has retained nationally prominent criminal defense attorney Abbe Lowell to defend itself.

If Norcross refuses to resign from the board, the advocates are asking Governor Murphy to explore placing the hospital under receivership.

When: 11:30 a.m. Thursday, October 10

Where: 3 Cooper Plaza (on the corner of Haddon Avenue, across the street from the Sheridan Pavilion at Cooper Hospital)

            Camden, NJ 08103

Who: Progressive advocacy groups