A New Jersey state judge on Wednesday dismissed criminal racketeering charges against George Norcross, one of the state's leading businessmen and an influential Democrat power broker.

The order, by Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw, also dismissed accusations against former Camden Mayor Dana Redd, attorney William Tambussi, John O'Donnell, Sidney Brown, and Philip Norcross, an attorney and George Norcross' brother and business partner.

The 112-page indictment, filed last June, accused Norcross of leading a "criminal enterprise," and the use of threats and extortion to bolster business deals involving his Norcross Enterprises. The indictment was posted by the New Jersey Globe.

In his order, Warshaw wrote that the "factual allegations do not constitute extortion or criminal coercion as a matter of law," according to Politico and declared "there was no racketeering enterprise."

Additionally, he wrote that Redd "did not commit any act of official misconduct," and all charges were outside the statute of limitations.

New Jersey State Attorney General Matthew Platkin, who led the legal action against Norcross and his associates, said he was "appealing immediately."

"Today is a reminder of how much work remains, and how difficult it will be to clean up government in our state," Platkin said in a statement on the New Jersey Attorney General's official web page.

But New Jersey insiders said the court's ruling reaffirmed claims Platkin's indictments were nothing more than a "political hit" intended to take down Norcross while bolstering Platkin's prospects for higher office with support from the party's far left.

In his court filings Norcross acknowledged his political influence, but asserted that such influence is not criminal.

"But the notion that the politically powerful are walking extortion machines is untenable and perverse," his filing stated. "Contrary to the State's facile allusions, a 'mob boss' and a 'political boss' are not the same thing."

The charges, according to the indictment, alleged that Norcross and his associates used threats to obtain property rights and tax incentive credits for property along the Delaware River in Camden, an economically depressed city across from Philadelphia. The rights were then sold for millions, the indictment claimed.

But the Judge made clear normal political wheeling-and-dealing is not a crime.

The indictment also never showed any evidence that Norcross or his associates ever engaged in criminal misconduct, such as bribery.

Judge Warshaw concluded that "factual allegations do not constitute extortion or criminal coercion as a matter of law" and said, "there was no racketeering enterprise."

"It follows that if the facts alleged do not, as a matter of law, constitute a crime, the indictment is manifestly deficient and facially and palpably defective," Warshaw wrote in his decision. "The indictment must be dismissed because its factual allegations do not constitute extortion or criminal coercion as a matter of law."