Ted Wells Hired to Defend N.J. Governor in Tax-Breaks Lawsuit

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has hired Ted Wells Jr.—one of the nation’s most prominent trial attorneys and a leader of the National Football League’s “Deflategate” inquiry—to represent him in a lawsuit brought by a Democratic political boss seeking to end a tax-incentives inquiry.

Wells, 69, in 2008 represented Citigroup Inc. against allegations that it had conspired with Parmalat SpA to aid and abet fraud. Wells won after a five-month trial and scored a $364 million counter-claim. In 2012 he settled a major lawsuit involving Bank of America Corp.’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. and federal regulatory investigations of Merck & Co. Inc.’s Vioxx and Abbott Laboratories’ Depakote.

Murphy on May 21 was named in a lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Mercer County by George Norcross III and five business entities, all with ties to Norcross, that benefited from a New Jersey tax-incentives program that favored development in Camden, among the nation’s poorest cities.

The plaintiffs claimed that Murphy had no authority to appoint a task force to examine the incentives, worth $11 billion statewide, after a state audit found evidence of shoddy oversight. Private businesses and a hospital with ties to Norcross—a Democratic fundraiser and southern New Jersey political boss—qualified for more than $1 billion in awards, according to reporting by ProPublica and WNYC-FM. His brother Philip Norcross’ law firm helped to write the incentives legislation, according to the reports.

Norcross and fellow plaintiffs hired a who’s who of New Jersey attorneys, including former Homeland Defense chief Michael Chertoff and Herb Stern, a onetime top U.S. prosecutor and judge.

Murphy spokeswoman Alyana Alfano didn’t respond to an email requesting Wells’ fee.

“Given the importance of the task force and the fact that the lawsuit is a clear attempt to shut it down, we thought it important to hire one of the nation’s best litigators to defend the governor and the task force, and to ensure the investigation continues unhindered,” Matt Platkin, Murphy’s chief counsel, said in a statement.

Wells has successfully defended high-ranking public officials including former New York Governors Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson; former Agriculture Secretary Michael Espy and former Labor Secretary Raymond Donovan; and ex-U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli Jr. of New Jersey, according to the website of his firm, Paul, Weiss, where he is a partner in the New York City office. He also defended Scooter Libby, the onetime chief of staff to former Vice President Dick Cheney, on perjury and obstruction charges. Libby, convicted in 2007, was pardoned by President Donald Trump last year.

Wells also led an investigation into the alleged use of under-inflated footballs by the New England Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady in a 2014-15 playoffs victory. His 243-page report concluded it was “more probable than not” that the Patriots had violated rules.

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