Christie Confidant, Bridgegate Figure Pleads Guilty In Corruption Case

A Gov. Chris Christie confidant who was allegedly involved in the Bridgegate scandal pleaded guilty Thursday morning in a continuing criminal investigation, according to authorities.

David Samson, the former Port Authority chairman, pleaded guilty to bribery for using his official authority to pressure the parent company of United Airlines Inc. to institute a non-stop flight from Newark to South Carolina for his personal benefit.

Jamie Fox, a former Christie administration official who at the time was a paid consultant and lobbyist for United Continental Holdings Inc., the Chicago-based parent company of United Airlines Inc., was charged in a separate criminal complaint with conspiring to commit bribery, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

United, which operated the route between Newark Liberty International Airport and Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina solely because Samson wanted it to travel to his house in South Carolina, entered into an agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to cooperate, to institute substantial reforms to its compliance program, and to pay a $2.25 million penalty.

Samson, who was long considered a Christie mentor and served as New Jersey attorney general, had been under scrutiny in a federal probe involving United Airlines providing possible favors to Samson.

"The Port Authority has and will continue to be fully cooperative in all matters under investigation," the agency said in a statement. "Following today's plea, we will continue to move forward with the reforms that have been adopted and embraced by all members of the Port Authority and its leadership."

Bloomberg recently outlined Samson’s alleged involvement in a possible pay-to-play scheme that helped United Airlines win approval for projects that will boost the airline’s operations at Newark Liberty International Airport.

The circumstances surrounding the approvals allegedly began with a dinner between Samson and United’s chief executive officer, according to the report:

• The United Airlines official wanted funding for several projects at Newark airport when the executive dined with Samson in September 2011.
• During the dinner, Samson noted he had grown weary of a trip to his weekend home in Aiken, South Carolina, because the best flight out of Newark was to Charlotte, North Carolina. He noted that Continental had run direct service from Newark to Columbia, South Carolina, 100 miles closer, until 2009.

“In a tone described by one observer as ’playful, but not joking,’ Samson asked: Could United revive that route? An awkward silence fell over the table.”

• Showing he wasn’t joking, Samson “ratcheted up the pressure” after the dinner, possibly suggesting through a United lobbyist that he was maneuvering to delay the airline’s project requests.
• The Port Authority ultimately approved a new United hangar, and Samson got his “chairman’s flight.” Four days after Samson left the Port Authority in March 2014, the flight was canceled.

The Observer reported that Samson is opting not to cooperate with prosecutors and testify against others, so he won’t be implicating fellow Port Authority employees such as former Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni, who was indicted in May 2015.

The failure to cooperate also removes any threat Christie himself may have been facing over possible revelations from a cooperating Samson, according to the report.

Samson's role in the Bridgegate scandal that severely damaged Christie's reputation was limited but still significant. He reportedly tried to retaliate against Port Authority Executive Director Patrick J. Foye after Foye criticized the closure of two of three local toll lanes to the George Washington Bridge, according to nj.com.

The lane closure turned out to be a political payback scheme against the Fort Lee mayor for not supporting Christie in his 2013 re-election bid, leading to two indictments and one guilty plea involving former Christie confidants.