Baroni gets 18 months for Bridgegate conviction

Bill Barnoni, 47, a former NJ State Senator and the former Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of NY/NJ was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison today for his role in the September, 2013 George Washington Bridge lane closure known as Bridgegate, Assistant US Attorney Attorney for the United States Mark Coyne announced.

U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton imposed the sentence in Newark federal court.

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Christie no longer a VIP at Newark-Liberty Airport

UPDATE: Christie tweets that the story is FAKE NEWS

Former Governor Chris Christie was turned away from using the VIP entrance at Newark Airport today, according to a story first reported by WCBS News. Read the rest of this entry »

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Tinton Falls man accused of dodging more than $20K in tolls, fees

NEW YORK — A Monmouth County man who allegedly owes more than $20,000 in EZ-Pass tolls and fees was arrested by Port Authority police Tuesday. Levert Caldwell III of Tinton Falls drove across the Outerbridge Crossing, but didn’t stop to pay the toll, according to a news release. A Port Authority police officer pulled over Caldwell… Read the rest of this entry »

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Former NJ DOT Commissioner Jamie Fox Charged in Samson’s United Airlines Bribery Scheme

Former New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox was charged by federal officials for his role in the bribery scheme that former Port Authority Chairman David Samson pleaded guilty to today, according to a statement by U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.

Additionally, United Airlines has agreed to a pay a $2.5 million penalty and to make compliance reforms for its role in the scheme in which it established a non-stop route between Newark-Liberty Airport and Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina for Samson to fly to his vacation home in Aiken, SC.  In exchange Samson allowed the Port Authority Commission to approve a lease of three acres at the airport for United to build a maintenance hanger.

Fox, in his role as a $7,500 per month consultant to United, is accused of shaking down United employees, on Samson’s behalf, to get the route to South Carolina established.

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David Samson, close confidant of Christie, pleads guilty in airline shakedown

NEWARK–David Samson–the embattled former chairman of the powerful Port Authority of New York and New Jersey–pleaded guilty Thursday afternoon to using his considerable clout to coerce one of the nation’s largest airlines to accommodate his desire for a regularly scheduled, non-stop flight to a South Carolina summer home. Samson, 76, a well-connected lawyer and one-time New… Read the rest of this entry »

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Report: Samson to plead guilty to federal charges related to “Chairman’s flight”

David Samson

Former Port Authority of NY/NJ and former New Jersey Attorney General David Samson will plead guilty to a federal felony related to the United Airlines route from Newark Airport to Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina, which is about 50 miles from Mr. Samson’s vacation home, according to a report by Ken Kurson for The Observer.

The route, which is alleged to have often been empty and money losing, was established while Samson was Chairman of the Port Authority and discontinued within days of Samson’s resignation in the wake of the Bridgegate scandal.  The September 2013 George Washington Bridge closure at the center of the Bridgegate matter occurred while Samson was Chairman.  As Chairman of the Port Authority, Samson oversaw United’s relationship with the authority’s airports.

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The Port Authority’s $16B spending spree includes these 6 projects

In what Chairman John Degnan called the most significant step for transportation infrastructure in the modern era, Port Authority commissioners green-lit $16 billion in projects Thursday. The center piece was what Vice Chairman Scott Rechler called a “horse trading” compromise between New York and New Jersey commissioners to approve the LaGuardia airport improvements in exchange for… Read the rest of this entry »

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Surprise walkout by dockworkers shuts down the N.J., N.Y. ports

NEWARK–More than 4,000 longshoremen unexpectedly walked off the job this morning, shutting down the port terminals both in New Jersey and New York, causing truck traffic to immediately start backing up throughout Port Newark and Port Elizabeth. Port officials were taken by surprise by the labor action, and were unsure what precipitated it. “We do know… Read the rest of this entry »

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Feds Agree to Pony Up $10B for Trans-Hudson Tunnel –Can NJ Cover Its Share?

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Tangled web surrounds United’s aborted Atlantic City routes

NEW YORK — Desperate to draw visitors to Atlantic City, New Jersey officials gave United Airlines more than $100,000 in incentives to fly to the seaside resort for at least a year. Then, when United abruptly canceled the money-losing routes eight months later, the officials appointed by Gov. Chris Christie decided not to enforce a contract… Read the rest of this entry »

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