Mark Sheridan, son of John and Joyce Sheridan, today sent a letter to the Somerset County Prosecutor and the Acting Attorney General of New Jersey, drawing an inquiring line from the Galdieri murder case to the unsolved killing of his own parents.

Specifically, Mark Sheridan wants to know if the knife recovered in the car of George Bratsenis, named as the perpetrator of the May 2014 murder of Galdieri, matches the knife used in killing his parents in September of 2014.

Bratsensis received payment for the murder of Mr. Galdieri from New Jersey-based operative Sean Caddle, politically connected to numerous powerful players in the Democratic Party. Caddle this week pleaded guilty to the Galdieri murder, by paying Bratsenis of Connecticut and Bomani Africa of Philadelphia to do the job.

From his letter (which Mark Sheridan CC’d to U.S. Attorney Phil Sellinger):

“By now, you have no doubt seen the news regarding the murder-for-hire plea entered by Sean Caddle. In May of of 2014, Caddle hired George Bratsenis and Bomani Africa to kill Michael Galdieri. The pleas establish that Bratsenis and Africa stabbed Galdieri to death before setting his home on fire. As you may be aware, , those facts are eerily similar to the circumstances surrounding the death of my parents. On Sept. 28th, 2014, my parents were stabbed to death in their home and their bedroom set on fire. In each instance, it appears the fire failed to achieve the desired result.

“I know neither of you were in charge of your respective offices at the time of my parents’ deaths. However, you should be aware that each of your offices all but laughed at my family’s suggestion that my parents’ deaths were anything other than a murder suicide. Indeed, both offices openly mocked the idea of a killing for hire involving a stabbing with a fire set to destroy evidence. remarkably, this occurred, while the Attorney General’s Office was ostensibly in charge of investigating the killing of another New Jersey politico under identical circumstances. I only hope the Galdieri family received better treatment than my family.

“In light of the fact that we now know that such killings and cover-ups do occur and are not merely the fantasy of grieving children, I ask you afford my family one simple courtesy. On September 29, 2014, the day after my parents’ deaths, police in Connecticut arrested George Bratsenis, the hitman who participated in the murder of Michael Galdieri. according to news reports, Bratsenis was in possession of a large handled kitchen knife at the time of his arrest. As we all know, the Somerset Prosecutors office never recovered the knife used to kill my father at the scene of the alleged murder-suicide. Moreover, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office inquired of my brothers and me multiple times regarding a knife that was missing from the knife block in the kitchen. I ask that you reach out to the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut who is prosecuting Mr. Bratsenis to request photos of the knife recovered at the time of his arrest to determine f it matches the set of knives from my parents’ kitchen, which hopefully remain in evidence at the SCPO. Perhaps, if you are so inclined, you might even ask for a DNA sample from the knife to see of there is a match for either of my parents’ DNA or the unexplained male DNA referenced in the State Police report related to my parents deaths.

“By copy of this letter, I am making the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey aware of my request, in the hope that he can assist your offices in connecting with his counterpart in Connecticut.”

Mark Sheridan’s letter comes as the New Jersey political establishment observes with intense interest the fact that Sean Caddle, who pleaded guilty to conspiring to murder his former partner Galdieri, sits in his own home this week on a $1 million bond, which suggests that he is cooperating with law enforcement to close another case(s).

Mark Sheridan now wants his own parents’ unresolved case reexamined with.

By way of background, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office ruled the deaths of John Sheridan, the CEO of Cooper Hospital in Camden and his wife, a murder-suicide. A medical examiner subsequently questioned that finding and law enforcement reopened the case. It remains an unsolved case.

In the year of his death, John Sheridan was at the center of ongoing debates with powerful players about land deals in the city of Camden. Those who accept law enforcements’ initial findings of a murder-suicide regretfully suggest that the deals drove him mad.

But others – his son among them – say no.

At the very least, the intensity of the discussions in Camden – and the financial stakes – cannot be denied.

From ProPublica:

“Much of the correspondence about the L3 deal involves John Sheridan, a prominent Republican attorney and the chairman of the Cooper’s Ferry board who, along with his wife, died in a violent incident in late 2014 that remains unsolved.

“Sheridan held two positions: In addition to being chairman of Cooper’s Ferry, he was the CEO of Cooper University Health Care — where he reported to the chairman, George Norcross. (Cooper University Health Care and Cooper’s Ferry are separate entities.)

“Throughout 2014, the documents show, Sheridan fielded a series of calls and emails from Cooper’s Ferry’s top leaders recounting their interactions with Philip Norcross as he intervened in the L3 deal.

“Philip Norcross had no official role with Cooper’s Ferry, but he was chairman of the Cooper Foundation, the fundraising arm of Cooper University Health Care. The hospital system would eventually end up as a tenant and co-owner of the disputed office complex. A spokesperson said he was also involved as a ‘real estate expert’ offering ‘pro bono’ assistance.

“Seeking to retain a stake in the L3 site, Cooper’s Ferry officials found themselves ‘trying over and over again to come up with something that will get past Phil,’ Sheridan wrote in a memo.

“The records show that Sheridan kept George Norcross in the loop and consulted with him at critical moments. …

“Cooper’s Ferry balked at the idea of using Norcross’ hand-picked developer as a private partner who would take over its ownership stake in the building. The nonprofit was lining up financing and potential tenants. National firms like Lockheed Martin had already expressed interest in renting space.

“Sheridan floated Cooper University Health Care as a potential tenant. In an email, writing as CEO of the hospital system, he asked a Cooper’s Ferry executive to sketch out what such a deal would look like. The proposal showed that the potential tax breaks for moving 400 employees into the complex could cover Cooper University Health Care’s rent for a decade.

“The Norcross spokesman now points to Sheridan’s involvement in the lease proposal as a conflict of interest, because Sheridan was on both sides of the transaction. It is one of the reasons George and Philip Norcross intervened, Fee said. Nevertheless, documents show hospital executives were excited about leasing the L3 building and told Sheridan to proceed.

“The L-3 is the best deal by a long shot,” wrote CFO Doug Shirley in an email to Sheridan. “No other option can touch it.”

“Fee said Cooper University Health Care was more comfortable working with Needleman, based on past partnerships that went back two decades.

“Outside counsel, Fee said, informed Sheridan that ‘he had to remove himself from the discussions’ around L3 in the spring of 2014, though it’s unclear when exactly that notification came.

“But the records show that Sheridan continued to be involved on the Cooper’s Ferry side, and Sheridan’s son disputes the claim of a conflict.

“‘My father’s actions protecting Cooper’s Ferry never once put him in conflict with Cooper Hospital,’ said Mark Sheridan, a prominent lawyer who served as counsel to his father during the negotiations. ‘My father’s only conflict was with those whose bidding he appropriately refused to do.’

“Meanwhile, Cooper’s Ferry executives struggled to maintain control of the project. They began talks with Lubert and Needleman, who wanted full ownership, but they also reached out to other potential development partners. At the top of their list was Mack-Cali Realty Corporation, which had developed high-profile projects along Jersey City’s booming waterfront.

“Within weeks, the nonprofit had hammered out a potential deal with Mack-Cali that would have allowed Cooper’s Ferry to keep 50% ownership of the L3 campus. Top executives of Cooper’s Ferry were pleased. ‘We selected a partner who is far and away the best for the project and for Camden,’ they wrote in a memo.

“But Lubert and Needleman, the Norcross-affiliated developers, weren’t ready to abandon their bid. According to an email by Foster, the president of Cooper’s Ferry, Needleman said he was ‘looking for the full acquisition’ and would take up the matter with Philip Norcross.

“Within days, Perno and Philip Norcross met in person to discuss the L3 deal. It was a 90-minute session. Afterward, Perno and Foster called Sheridan with bad news: Norcross told him that Cooper’s Ferry executives were ‘persona non grata’ with George and Phil’ and Sheridan himself was ‘co-opted’ by Cooper’s Ferry, according to an account of the conversation Sheridan wrote for his files.”