Former Christie Ally David Wildstein Set to Plead Guilty

[deminks]

Source: Bloomberg

David Wildstein, a former ally of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, is set to plead guilty this week, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, suggesting he may be cooperating with prosecutors probing traffic jams he ordered near the George Washington Bridge.

Wildstein is scheduled to appear Friday in federal court in Newark, where grand jurors have heard testimony in secret for months about gridlock over four mornings in Fort Lee, New Jersey, according to the person, who requested anonymity because the matter isn’t public.

He would plead guilty to a charging document known as a criminal information, the person said. It was unclear what the specific charges would be in the plea. The plea was originally scheduled for Thursday, the person said.

A plea by Wildstein, who was a top appointee at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, would be the first conviction for U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman in an investigation of the September 2013 lane closures. The scandal has hurt Christie’s popularity as the Republican weighs a run for the White House and tests his tough-talking image with voters in Iowa and New Hampshire.


Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-29/former-christie-ally-david-wildstein-said-to-plan-guilty-plea

[Vinca]

1. Please, please, please let him rat on Christie to stay out of the big house.

[yeoman6987]

2. I hope it isn't another "Lucy with the football"

Situation. Seems there has been a lot of that with this situation.

[mountain grammy]

3. Talk, you sleazy bastard, talk! Turn on him

he'd do it to you in a heartbeat!

[oldandhappy]

4. Remember Christie saying

I don't know what David was doing (in high school), I was an athlete and class president. ha ha Christie remembered him enough to appoint him. Will be watching.

[calimary]

7. He really shouldn't have made those statements. The minute he said he was an athlete

you better believe most listeners looked at his - um - present physical condition, shall we say, and came up with their own undoubtedly snide remarks.

[Laxman]

5. Hope Springs Eternal....

let's hope this is true. There's no way he's taking the fall alone. His lawyer Zegas and Bridget Kelly's lawyer Critchley have been to a lot of Federal Prosecutions together and my gut feeling is they have a plan. I smell Christie Crime Digest Volume III-The Prosecution in our near future.

[calimary]

6. Sing, birdie! SING!!!!

[rurallib]

8. Save your own neck, Dave - no matter what Christie promises you

remember he told you you would never get caught

[Laxman]

9. An Additional Report....

from that wild and crazy New Jersey Law Journal, the newspaper for attorneys. Not exactly a publication prone to speculation.

Wildstein to Plead Guilty, Report Says

David Wildstein, who has been accused of helping to orchestrate the abrupt closure of local access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in September 2013, is set to plead guilty to unknown charges this week, according to a Bloomberg Business report.

The Bloomberg report, citing "a person with knowledge of the matter," said Wildstein is scheduled to appear at a May 1 hearing in federal court in Newark. The report said it was unclear what specific charges would be in the plea.

An internal report ordered by Gov. Chris Christie and compiled by Gibson Dunn & Crutcher last year said the lane closures were ordered by Christie's former deputy chief of staff, Bridget Kelly, and Wildstein, a Christie appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the bridge. The report cleared Christie of any wrongdoing.

A report prepared by Reid Schar of Jenner & Block in Chicago, special counsel for the New Jersey Legislative Select Committee on Investigation–a bipartisan committee of the state Senate and Assembly–also said Wildstein and Kelly orchestrated the lane closures, but stopped short of clearing Christie of any wrongdoing.

Both Wildstein, who resigned, and Kelly, whom Christie fired after learning of her email to Wildstein saying it was "time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," invoked their Fifth Amendment rights and refused to testify or provide documents to the legislative committee.

Wildstein's lawyer, Alan Zegas, who runs a firm in Chatham, sent a letter to the committee early last year saying that "evidence exists" that Christie knew of the closures beforehand, which Christie has denied.

U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman of the District of New Jersey began investigating the lane closures about 16 months ago. In early April, persons familiar with the investigation said it appeared to be drawing to a close, although it should be noted that media predictions about the possibility of imminent indictments in recent months have been in error.

U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Matthew Reilly said the office would not comment on the Bloomberg report. Zegas could not immediately be reached for comment April 29.

Kelly's attorney, Michael Critchley Sr., of Critchley, Kinum & Vazquez in Roseland, declined to comment.

Read more: http://www.njlawjournal.com/id=1202725006292/Wildstein-to-Plead-Guilty-Report-Says#ixzz3YjyHR5uH

[winstars]

14. Hope you have the time my friend to inform all DU'ers with your NJ expertise on these matters.

Like someone alluded to above, hopefully, the Lucy and the football or the "Fitzmas" that never was won't happen with this scandal....

[George II]

10. I wonder who is wearing the OTHER shoe that's going to drop soon? (GW)Bridge-ette Kelly?

[Gothmog]

11. Another shoe drops

Christie is toast

[The Wizard]

12. The first domino?

But methinks Christie has inside info which is why his wife quit her Wall Street shyster job so he could continue his run for the Big (white) House.

[turbinetree]

13. Christie

I really hope you are what is normally called -------TOAST and get indicted---then you can "shut up and sit down".
Also, for giggles you can have a mug shot just like your buddy----- Rick Perry---------yeah, couldn't happen to better jerks.

Maybe----- Walker will be next----hope so

[Laxman]

15. It Looks Like It's About To Hit The Fan....

for Samson too. Seems like the dominoes are indeed about to start falling.

The Dinner Proposal That Led United Into Corruption Probe

United Airlines Inc. was seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in public investment for the airport in Newark when its chief executive dined with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s top Port Authority official in September 2011.

Jeffery Smisek, United's chief executive officer, wanted funding for several projects, including an estimated $600 million extension of the PATH train from downtown Newark to the airport, as the airline worked through its merger with Continental Airlines.

Halfway through dinner at Novita, an Italian restaurant in Manhattan, Port Authority Chairman David Samson surprised the group with a request of his own. He complained that he and his wife had grown weary of the trip to their weekend home in Aiken, South Carolina, because the best flight out of Newark was to Charlotte, North Carolina, 150 miles away. Until 2009, Continental had run direct service from Newark to Columbia, South Carolina, 100 miles closer.

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.

Though the United CEO didn’t agree to the request at the dinner, according to the accounts of some who attended, the airline ultimately added the money-losing route that became known as “the chairman’s flight.” Now federal prosecutors are looking into whether its genesis crossed the line from legitimate bargaining into illegal activity.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey is investigating whether United employees made improper attempts to influence Samson at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, according to people familiar with the investigation. The authority oversees Newark Liberty International Airport.

Read the rest here: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-28/the-dinner-proposal-that-led-united-into-corruption-probe

[lobodons]

16. My biggest question

My biggest question is whether or not the government issues tent size orange jumpsuits?

[davidpdx]

17. What kind of sentence is he going to get

Six months in a half-way house that looks like a Hilton Hotel and a couple of million in fines?