David Samson sentenced to probation in United Airlines bribery scandal
Source: NJ Advance Media
Facing two years in prison for the shakedown of United Airlines in a scheme to get a more convenient direct flight to his South Carolina getaway home, former Port Authority chairman David Samson found a soft landing Monday.
Following a request by his attorneys for leniency supported from more than 40 friends, family members and public officials--including letters from former Gov. James McGreevey, three former state attorneys general and a retired federal judge--U.S. District Judge Jose Linares sentenced Samson to probation and community service.
The one-time attorney general pleaded guilty to using his power as chairman to coerce one of the nation's largest airlines to accommodate his request for the non-stop flight between Newark Liberty and Columbia, S.C., by holding up the carrier's efforts to build a new maintenance hanger at Newark.
A close friend and mentor to Gov. Chris Christie who appointed him as chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Samson began pressing United Airlines to reinstate the non-stop flight from Newark Liberty to Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina within just weeks of being named chairman the Port Authority in early 2011, according to federal prosecutors. United is the largest carrier at Newark Liberty, which is operated by the Port Authority.
The route, which came to be known as "the Chairman's flight," shortened Samson's travel time to his country estate in Aiken, S.C.
Read more: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2017/03/david_samson_sentenced_to_probation_in_united_airl.html#incart_river_home
It's good to be rich in America, isn't it? Let the plundering continue. His co-defendant Jamie Fox died before the charges against him could be fully heard. United got off with a fine. (albeit a large one). We don't know why United executives made large campaign donations to Christie for Governor while they were negotiating with Samson for benefits at Newark Liberty Airport. And now the guy who holds the goods on Christie gets off with a slap on the wrist, eliminating any incentive to talk. Justice should be so lenient for all of us. Now Samson serves his probationary sentence at his palatial vacation home in Aiken, SC. What a country!
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he does have to wear a monitoring device for a year. He was approaching the age where he needed a Life Alert pendant anyway.....
