Chris Christie's Piggy Bank: The real reason Christie killed the new NY-NJ commuter tunnel (Esquire)

[kpete]

Chris Christie's Piggy Bank
Chris Christie is hardly the first governor to use the Port Authority for funds. But no other governor in history has been quite so greedy
By Scott Raab on February 12, 2014



Which brings us to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is the agency that built and owns and runs the George Washington Bridge, which is the world's busiest, with two decks, 29 toll lanes (cars $13, trucks $17/axle) -- and more than 100 million vehicles per year. It's a tasty bit of business.

Toss in the take from the Lincoln Tunnel and the Holland Tunnel, plus Newark, LaGuardia, and JFK airports, plus one of the eastern seaboard's busiest seaports -- the list goes on and on. By statute, the PA sells its own bonds and wields the power of eminent domain -- the PA seized 16 acres of downtown Manhattan to create the World Trade Center in the 1960s -- and it operates mostly in secret.

If you're Chris Christie, that's a corner candy store pleading to be plundered. Early in his first term, Christie "borrowed" $2 billion by killing a crucial tunnel project jointly funded by New Jersey, New York, and the federal government, and he used that dough for New Jersey road work that the New Jersey budget couldn't cover without raising the state's gas tax -- second-lowest in the U.S. -- a solution Christie refused to consider. That tunnel project, billed at $9 billion, would've been a godsend to New Jersey rail commuters -- not to mention the thousands of jobs committed to its construction.

Chris Christie not only killed the tunnel, but lied about doing so to save the state from paying for imaginary cost overruns, even after the U.S Department of Transportation, trying to save the tunnel, said it would cover New Jersey's share of any such costs. That was late 2010; Christie's men -- including David Wildstein and Bill Baroni, both of whom resigned in the wake of the Great Ft. Lee Clusterfk -- were beginning to take over the PA. That process accelerated when David Samson, another Christie crony, became Chairman of the Port Authority Board of Commissioners early in 2011.

........


Read more:
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/chris-christie-port-authority-021214

[bettyellen]

1. kick

[polichick]

2. Yet another dose of stench from CC...

k&r

[blkmusclmachine]

43. Savvy.

[FSogol]

3. Popcorn! Get yer popcorn!

[dawnie51]

4. From the first moment I heard about this...

my mind went immediately to that tunnel project. I knew this was part of the plan. Christie personally did not want that tunnel and there had to be a reason and like all else in this story, it had to involve huge amounts of money. The tunnel apparently was not under the auspices of his business buddies, i.e. Samson, etc. so it had to go. What a miserable tool this guy is.

[Fred Sanders]

6. Now can the stench of corruption from Republican Governors refusing ACA Medicaid for its citizens

come to the attention of the voting public, especially in those same States?

[okaawhatever]

21. I agree with you, but I think it's more than that. Even if evidence doesn't come to light about

his planning to shut it down prior to his election, I'll always believe that's the case. I think one of his big money donors wanted that shut down and it was part of why they supported him. He put Wildstein and Bill Blasio on the council that oversaw the report that in thirty days magically came up with numbers that Christie said flew in the face of every other report engineers had done. When he announced he was cancelling the project, six months after he had publicly backed it, he wouldn't even consider options. He finally gave LaHood two weeks, but even that was more proof that he had his plans laid out before election. He wouldn't listen to any compromises, alternatives, etc. He killed the thing. Someone wanted that project killed and it wasn't about tax revenue.

[underthematrix]

36. This may be why the sate attorney has subpoenaed Christie's re-election campaign records

[arthritisR_US]

22. Once that tunnel would be completed the

acolades for it would go to Lautenberg and Christie couldn't stand that. He shelved it for greed and ego

[Laxman]

24. It's A Little More Than That....

it was mostly to be able to grab that money for the budget instead of truly funding the Transportation Trust Fund and it allowed him to trumpet how he stood up to "big government infrastructure spending" for the tea party crowd.

This is a huge mess. Mostly for future generations. The tunnel is an essential project that must be done at some point for the good of the national economy-let alone the NY-NJ region. Now, instead of 2017, its probably been pushed out past my lifetime.

[arthritisR_US]

25. Oh, that's right, good point. I remember him

saying something cheesie like "the tunnel to Masie's" or something cheap like that which the air head press seemed to really like.

NJ's finances aren't looking so rosey these days. Not sure who, whether it was Rachel or Lawrence who mentioned that. If the tunnel now won't be done now for 2017 are you thinking in terms of decades?

[Laxman]

26. Questions About The Tunnel...

dead-ending deep under Macy's in NYC were legitimate concerns. The plan in place was a product of the Bush Administration no wanting to fund the project as a part of Amtrak. It left NJ to its own devices. Frank Lautenberg was able to secure matching federal funds for the ARC project and NJ decided to move forward . Chrisite came in after some work had already been started, saw the pot of money and the flaws in the project and took advantage. A more progressive Obama administration came in and proposed the Gateway Tunnel. A true through tunnel that would increase capacity on the NE Corridor in a meaningful way. The ARC money could easily have been re-purposed. This is where the true intent of Christie is revealed. It was grabbing a pot of infrastructure long-term capital money and using it on short term budget fixes to make him look good at the expense of future generations and tens of millions of people.

[arthritisR_US]

28. I thought I had heard just recently that NJ

presently was in very poor shape financially so all the campaign rhetoric he ran on about being so great for the state was just hot air?

[Laxman]

30. Smoke & Mirrors....

NJ went from one of the fiscally strongest states in the country to being rated 50th! That in itself should be a scandal. All just to make Christie appear to look good. (there's a joke that writes itself)

New Jersey's fiscal condition rated worst in U.S. read here: http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/new-jersey/64003-new-jerseys-fiscal-condition-rated-worst-in-us-

[arthritisR_US]

35. One of the show I watch was referencing that

verythat very report, thanks. I thought that is what I heard

[okaawhatever]

37. I also read that he campaigned hard on not raising the gas tax. Without the gas tax and the

transportation trust fund, there isn't any money? Someone should have called him on that much sooner.

[ReRe]

5. Why are Mafia movies so irresistible?

The PA's really got Mafia down! Maybe cleaning this mess up will touch Wall Street too?

[George II]

7. Don't forget, his guys are deeply involved in real estate development (I think his brother, too?)...

....near a Hoboken NJ Transit train station that they've been pushing for rehabilitation. If that tunnel were built, the station portably wouldn't have been as important or as busy, reducing the value of that development.

Someone's going to have to put together a huge flowchart and timeline for all of these seemingly isolated incidents - they're all falling into place now.

[JHB]

16. You may be conflating a couple of different items

The Christie-related and train-related items are:
1) the tunnel cancellation, which would have created additional capacity almost alongside the existing NJT/Amtrak rail lines between Newark Penn Station and NY Penn Station

2) The upgrade of the Harrison PATH station.

3) a proposed additional station on the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail in northern Hoboken.

none of those projects interfere(d) with each other.

[Laxman]

8. This Was A Conspiracy....

between Samson & Christie to siphon funds. How do you fix the Pulaski Skyway, a billion dollar project, without having money in the transportation trust fund? Tap the Port Authority. How do you fill in a multi-billion dollar budget gap? Take the tunnel money. If this weren't the case, the money would have been re-purposed to the Gateway Tunnel project in partnership with Amtrak. But he didn't. He spent it so he could say he balanced the budget without raising taxes in his campaign ads.

Samson, whose conflicts of interest are both flagrant and immensely profitable, still mans that post, and as a lawyer who does millions of dollars worth of deals with real-estate developers in the New York City area, not for nothing. He, too, has been subpoenaed by the New Jersey legislative committee investigating Ft. Lee -- the documents Wildstein turned over to the committee indicate Samson was in attack mode even as a traffic jam became Christigeddon -- and it's a safe bet that the Feds, too, have summoned him.

Give Christie credit for this much: He's hardly the first governor to use the PA as a piggy bank, a patronage pit, and a political weapon. But no other governor in history has been quite so greedy, so conniving, or so crude.

I'm stealing this form someone else: The Wolff & Samson motto- Quad Est In Loco (The Fix is In)

[Merlot]

10. Has Sampson been subpoenaed?

Maybe he's "to big" to subpoena?

[Laxman]

11. He's Been Subpeonaed....

by the NJ Legislative committee investigating the GWB closure. That's not where the action is. It's likely he's been subpoenaed by the U.S. Attorney's office. They don't do their work in public. Hopefully they are diligently digging away. There is enough in the public domain to warrant it. When you know where to look, there is an awful lot of evidence of undue influence and personal enrichment. Follow the evidence and follow the money. It will lead to Samson, Christie, Chiesa, Grifa and the rest.

[WinkyDink]

27. I'd like to think so, but remember the last Big Slam-Dunk Case That Fizzled? Patrick Fitzgerald?

[Laxman]

29. There Are Two Differences...

and I hope they are significant. (I made my first posts on DU during the Scooter Libby Era) There is a lot more going on here than just the bridge. There is plenty of fodder, lots of player who don't want to go down for the big boys, and multiple instances of a type of behavior sufficient to prove a pattern of abuse. Second, there are ethical/financial components of this scandal. Shenanigans involving money tend to lead to results in criminal investigations.

[WinkyDink]

31. I'm hopeful! The $$ corruption is apparently monumental and ingrained. (And no wonder NJ won't let

one pump his own gasoline!)

[Botany]

9. With them it was always the dollars, always the fuckin' dollars."

With them it was always the dollars, always the fuckin' dollars."
Nicky Santoro
Casino
1995

[WillyT]

12. K & R !!!

[heaven05]

13. chrispfried just got caught

NY and NJ politics has always been this dirty. Don't get me wrong, I hope he gets convicted of some felony(s). But if he manages to squeeze out of this one after roasting a lot of sacrificial lamb(s). I won't be surprised in the least.

[marble falls]

14. I kinda wish this hadn't hit the fan until the GOP convention but if it can take back a couple of ..

House seats or Governor mansions I am glad it is stringing out like this. Fox seems a bit confused by how to handle it - ignoring it is the rule today.

Christy did not help himself stonewalling and pleading ignorance. Its all on tape. When the indictments start coming down and hes in front of the NJ legislature or a Federal Judge I bet John Steward will have a wonderful dueling Christie segment.

[rocktivity]

15. He might be able to wriggle out of this in terms of staying in Trenton

but I'll settle for it keeping him out of the White House.


rocktivity

[okaawhatever]

38. If we get enough Democratic Governors, especially in places like NJ where they have a Democratic

state house we might get a Constitutional aendment to overturn Citizens united. 15 or 16 states have already passed some sort of legislation towards that end. NJ would pass it if they have a Governor who won't veto it. Now that we have Virginia it might happen there and then there's Crist in Florida, he could probably pull it off.
Overturning Citizens United would start the process of turning this country around.

[idendoit]

17. If the PA is jointly run...

...it would seem to me that New York was well aware of how those funds were being manipulated. If not,why not? Also, if the fed was willing to cover New Jersey's out of pocket; why don't they go after this shakedown?
****CONSPIRACY THEORY ALERT**** Why is Holder suddenly resigning? Is the ink dry on a contract for his next gig at some prestigious Wall Street law firm?

[Cha]

18. The Harder They Fall.. Great Corrupt Liars Are the Best to Fall..

"Great Ft. Lee Clusterfk"

thanks kpete

[mstinamotorcity2]

19. like I say its

always the LOOT!!!!

[MaeScott]

20. If Nagin can be convicted, why not CC?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[Laxman]

23. Mark Magyar From NJ Spotlight....

is all over this today. Legislative Probe Expands To Controversial ARC Tunnel Cancellation You can read it here: http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/14/02/13/legislative-probe-expands-to-controversial-arc-tunnel-cancellation/ Contains a pretty good explanation of the tunnel cancellation.

Christie’s October 7, 2010, cancellation of the ARC Tunnel made him a darling of conservative talk show hosts and set the stage for Republican governors elected the following month to cancel major rail transit projects in Ohio, Wisconsin and Florida.

But most important, cancellation of the ARC Tunnel freed up billions of dollars in Port Authority and New Jersey Turnpike Authority revenue that was used three months later by Christie to fund a five-year extension of the Transportation Trust Fund without raising the gas tax.

Wisniewski and the late U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), the state’s leading mass-transit advocates at the time, charged on the day Christie announced the cancellation that his real motivation in killing the rail tunnel was to “steal” billions of dollars to refuel the Transportation Trust Fund, which was scheduled to run out of money for new projects that budget year.

[Historic NY]

32. Shuttering that project was a hugh waste of taxpayers funds...

that went into years of design, planning and development. Money already spent on construction went into the toilet. NJT has had to lay out hudreds millions to settle up. The Super bowl debacle with NJT is just another example of the foolishness in transit/rail planning.

The Gateway project is trying to salvage some of the ARC tunnel.

[Laxman]

34. Gateway Tunnel...

is a very important project. The ARC money should have been re purposed there. It is essential to the health of the region and the national economy. Not to mention national security.

[LynneSin]

33. Christie instead tried to create jobs with another Casino, the Revel

which after a year filed bankruptcy. I think it's still open but it's struggling.

[Left Coast2020]

39. Rachel just had this angle of the story on her show.

From my vantage point, it would seem CC has a possible corruption-like problem on his hands.

My hats off to the prosecuters office if they uncover this with proof.

CC has some splain'n to do.

[lobodons]

40. JFC CC can't get his prison # soon enough!!

CC is PURE filth top to bottom.

[dogday]

41. Chris Crispy Fried, got caught with hand in the cookie jar.

No Republican nomination for him, no sir...

[blkmusclmachine]

42. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$