New Jersey 'Bridgegate' figure expected to plead guilty to federal charge

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

World | Thu Jul 14, 2016 12:15pm EDT

New Jersey 'Bridgegate' figure expected to plead guilty to federal charge

NEWARK, N.J. | BY MICA ROSENBERG

David Samson, a key figure in the "Bridgegate" scandal that tarnished New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's administration, was expected to plead guilty on Thursday to a federal charge tied to a scheme involving United Airlines.

Samson, a close confidante of Christie, was expected to plead guilty to a single conspiracy-related felony charge, local media said. He resigned in 2014 as chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey amid a probe of the George Washington Bridge traffic jam that top Christie aides were accused of engineering to punish a local politician.

The airline probe emerged from the bridge investigation, but is unrelated to the gridlock scandal that hung over Christie's failed White House bid and continues to cast a shadow as he is among those being considered as a running-mate for presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

United Continental Holdings Inc Chief Executive Jeff Smisek and two other senior executives resigned in September 2015 after an internal probe into whether the airline tried to curry favor with Samson by adding non-stop flights between New Jersey and South Carolina, where Samson had a vacation home.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-jersey-bridgegate-ual-idUSKCN0ZU1MC

[dmosh42]

1. Another fantasy-Prosecuting NJ "untouchables".