David Samson, close confidant of Christie, pleads guilty in airline shakedown
Source: Star-Ledger
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 Jersey attorney general who served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, plead guilty to one charge of bribery for accepting a benefit of more than $5,000 from United Airlines before U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares.
It was a stunning downfall of a man once respected for his integrity, acumen and ability to get things done behind-the-scenes, came after a nearly two-year investigation by federal prosecutors, sparked by an ongoing inquiry into the Port Authority in the wake of the so-called Bridgegate scandal.
In that case, which led to criminal charges against two members of the governor's inner circle, prosecutors have charged a former Port Authority executive and an aide to Christie with helping orchestrate the 2013 toll lane shutdowns at the George Washington Bridge, allegedly as an act of political retribution against the mayor of Fort Lee after he decline to endorse Christie for re-election.
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