Chris Christie confidant pleads guilty to federal charges

NEWARK, N.J. — One of the New Jersey governor's most trusted confidants pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges of taking advantage of his position for personal benefit.

David Samson, the former chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, admitted his involvement in a scheme to pressure United Airlines to reinstate a flight from here to South Carolina. The former New Jersey attorney general is a longtime close adviser to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and served as chairman of the governor’s transition team when Christie first took office.

Prosecutors also filed a criminal complaint against former state Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox — who was appointed by Christie — charging him with conspiring with Samson and others to commit bribery in his role as a lobbyist and consultant for the airline.

And in a separate non-prosecution agreement with the office of U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman, United pledged to cooperate in the Fox investigation, to institute reforms to its compliance program and to pay a $2.25 million penalty.

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“This kind of case shakes public confidence in our institutions of government when people who are so accomplished, and who have occupied so many positions of public trust, misuse their authority to get something for themselves,” Fishman said at a news conference in Newark.

Standing between his lawyers in a packed courtroom at the federal court house in Newark, Samson admitted his guilt in the scheme to U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares.

Under the terms of a plea deal, Samson could be sentenced to a term ranging from probation to up to two years in prison. Sentencing was set for Oct. 20.

Samson, who will turn 77 next month, pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly and corruptly soliciting and accepting a thing of value, specifically a non-stop flight between Newark International Airport and Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina, because he wanted to travel more conveniently to his home in Aiken, S.C. The existence of the so-called “chairman’s flight” was first reported by The Record.

During questioning by the judge, Samson admitted that he used his power as chairman of the Port Authority to pressure United to reinstate a flight that had previously been operated by Continental Airlines before it was merged with United in 2010 to form the world’s largest air carrier.

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Samson admitted discussing the flight with a consultant, later identified as Fox, and senior United employees at a dinner meeting in New York City in September 2011, at which he let it be known that the route had made travel to his South Carolina home much more convenient.

At the time, Fox was a principal of a New Jersey consulting and lobbying firm that had been retained by United Continental Holdings Inc. to assist it in projects involving the Port Authority, according to the charges.

Those matters included a 25-year agreement under which United would lease three acres at Newark Liberty International Airport from the Port Authority for $20 million and build a $25 million maintenance hanger for its wide-body aircraft.

In an email exchange, cited in court papers, Fox told Samson “you have them dancing” referring to United’s second look at reinstating the unprofitable route.

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“Good. I hope they dance to my tune,” Samson replied. “Let me know if there’s any way to keep the pressure on this issue: it will save me a lot of heartache,” he wrote.

After learning that United was not interested in reinstating the flight, Samson admitted he removed a resolution approving the hanger project from the agency’s agenda in a bid to squeeze United.

The airline eventually agreed to reinstate the money-losing route, which Samson had dubbed “the chairman’s flight,” and he used it on 27 occasions between October 2012 and Jan. 2014.

Federal prosecutors have been investigating Samson since he was forced to step down from the Port Authority in March 2014, following allegations that he used his position as head of the multibillion dollar agency for his personal benefit and to benefit clients of his powerful law firm.

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The flight, which departed Newark on a Thursday and returned on a Monday, was introduced 18 months into Samson’s three-year tenure at the Port Authority. It was canceled three days after he resigned.

Following an internal investigation carried out by United, the airline’s CEO, Jeff Smisek, as well as two high-ranking executives whose role was to interact with government representatives, resigned last year.

Samson’s guilty plea on Thursday could also pose a problem for  Christie, who has been tapped to lead Donald Trump’s transition team and is still on the short list to be Trump’s running mate.

Several United executives from out of state, including the three who resigned in the wake of the airline’s internal investigation, donated to Christie’s 2013 re-election campaign. United’s former CEO, Smisek, met privately with Christie and Samson, in August 2013 to discuss the airline’s and the state’s interests.

United wanted a reduction in fees at Newark airport, where the airline controlled almost three-quarters of flight slots. The airline also wanted an extension of the PATH train to Newark airport, which would have provided a one-seat ride to passengers from Lower Manhattan.

Christie appointees at the Port Authority lobbied within the agency for both of these items during 2013. They failed to get flight fees lowered, but the PATH extension to Newark was included in the agency’s capital plan.

That fall, Christie appeared at Newark airport alongside Samson and Smisek to announce that United would begin flying out of Atlantic City, a potential boon for the cash-strapped city.

Christie’s office did not respond to requests for comment by late afternoon Thursday.

Michael Critchley, the attorney for Fox, 61, of Lambertville, denied he had intentionally engaged in any wrongdoing.

“Jamie Fox has devoted his entire professional life to serving the citizens of New Jersey and his private clients honorably,” Critchely said, adding “he would never jeopardize his reputation” by engaging in the alleged criminal conduct.

“Jamie unfortunately has found himself caught in the middle of an arrangement that he believed was reviewed and approved by the necessary business and legal professionals.”

Follow Paul Berger on Twitter: @pdberger

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