Dead End: Crime and Politics
Dead End is where true crime meets political corruption. From the shocking murder of a politically connected couple to the unraveling of one of the most powerful figures in Washington, Season 2 exposes how power, ambition, and secrecy collide in New Jersey and beyond. In Season 1, we investigated the mysterious deaths of John and Joyce Sheridan, and the political machine connected to them. Now, we trace Senator Bob Menendez’s rise and fall, and the romance and Egyptian spies at the center of his ruin. Episodes release every Tuesday.
Episodes
New Jersey politics is not for the faint of heart. But the brutal killing of John and Joyce Sheridan, a prominent couple with personal ties to three governors, shocks even the most cynical operatives. The mystery surrounding the crime sends their son on a quest for truth. Dead End is a story of crime and corruption at the highest levels of society in the Garden State.
On a quiet cul-de-sac, a husband and wife of 47 years are stabbed to death in the stillness of dawn. Honest and unassuming, John Sheridan, famous for never raising his voice, played against type in the rough-and-tumble world of New Jersey politics. Could the Republican lobbyist have killed his wife Joyce—a veteran public school teacher and no-nonsense mother of four sons—then set their bedroom on fire before knifing himself? That’s...
The Sheridans’ eldest son Mark is consumed with getting to the bottom of what happened to his parents. As the lawyer for Governor Chris Christie’s election campaign, Mark is in a unique position to uncover answers. Instead, he’s met with roadblock after roadblock. The questions really pile up when he learns that detectives haven’t even interviewed several key witnesses or completed a thorough investigation of the crime...
The knife used to kill John Sheridan is just the first of many clues casting doubt on law enforcement’s conclusion of murder suicide. A newspaper crime reporter, a veteran homicide detective out of Philly, and a whistleblower point to significant pieces of evidence that have been disregarded—even thrown into a dumpster. Although Mark has the state attorney general and the county prosecutor on direct dial, he still gets stonewalled....
After it becomes clear the Somerset county prosecutor’s office couldn’t have done a worse job (unless their goal was to destroy the crime scene), some 200 prominent citizens send a letter to the state attorney general asking for his office to intervene in the investigation. Despite the letter signed by the biggest names in New Jersey legal circles—including two former attorneys general and three former governors—the attorney ...
John Sheridan’s decision to go work at Cooper University Hospital came at a curious time. It was just months after news about the Palmyra tapes came out. The tapes caught George Norcross bullying and offering a favor to a small town official; they are a rare instance where evidence emerged of the rough and tumble side to the south Jersey political machine. An email shows Norcross' control over the state legislature and city council...
A couple months after his parents’ deaths, Mark Sheridan comes across a paper trail: extensive email exchanges, dated memos, and handwritten notes detailing a real estate deal on the Camden waterfront. His father, John Sheridan, wrote himself a note on an envelope: “I have a duty of loyalty and good faith and I need to act in a way consistent with that responsibility." How did John act and what impact did it have?
In the almost eight years since John and Joyce Sheridan were killed, five state Attorneys General have come and gone in New Jersey. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy recently nominated a new Attorney General, Matt Platkin. Last week, an email came from Platkin’s press office with surprising news.
In February 2015, the Somerset prosecutor announced that John Sheridan had murdered his wife in cold blood and then killed himself. In 2017, the manner of death was updated to “undetermined.” From the local detectives to the state’s Attorney General’s office, a lot of people walked away from these murders. If a family as powerful and well-connected as the Sheridans gets such bad treatment, what does this say about the justice...
The new Attorney General for New Jersey opened an investigation into the Sheridan deaths, and another investigation into the real estate deals in Camden. While there's been no news on the murder investigation, the subpoenas are flying in Camden. State investigators appear to be looking into real estate deals on the waterfront, whether state tax breaks were given out fraudulently, and how land in Camden owned by public agencies was ...
Big news for Dead End listeners.
On Monday, June 17, George Norcross was charged in a 13-count indictment from the attorney general of New Jersey, Matthew J. Platkin. Norcross, whose entry into politics was chronicled in the fifth episode of Dead End, was once widely regarded as the most powerful unelected person in New Jersey.
The indictment says the longtime Democratic power broker led a "criminal enterprise" that used threats and ...
On June 17, the New Jersey state attorney general announced an indictment of George Norcross, and the powerful party boss showed up. It was a remarkable moment because Norcross is charged in a racketeering case that, by definition, involves intimidation.
The 111-page indictment alleges that Norcross and five others run a criminal enterprise to “extort others through threats and fear of economic and reputational harm.”
Note: This epi...
It’s been eight months since the New Jersey State Attorney General indicted George Norcross on racketeering, extortion and political corruption charges. The 111-page indictment alleged that Norcross and his brother Phil ran a criminal enterprise that used political power to force individuals to give up their development rights on the Camden waterfront.
But that case has hit a roadblock.
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