Defense attorneys in their opening statements implied he was foisted on Baroni, who technically was Wildstein’s superior, by Christie because Baroni wasn’t deemed tough enough. He couldn’t recall who told him that.
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He had few friends-except for one that counted.
“He was protected by Chris Christie, correct?” asked Michael Critchley, the attorney for Kelly, a former deputy chief of staff to Christie.
Foye paused momentarily. “Yes”, he finally responded. On a separate visit to the 9/11 memorial, Sokolich testified, he met David Wildstein, the former Port Authority official who pleaded guilty past year in the scheme and will testify for the government.
The two are charged with civil rights violations, conspiracy and wire fraud.
The prosecutor, speaking for the United States attorney’s office, said that two of the alleged co-conspirators in the case, David Wildstein and Bill Baroni, had “bragged” to the governor about the lane closings at a memorial service for the September 11 terrorist attacks, on the third day of the closings, and that they had been done to “mess” with Mayor Mark Sokolich of Fort Lee, a Democrat, because he had declined entreaties to endorse the governor’s re-election. By doing so, the lawyers suggested, Foye sought to protect the interests of the “New York side” of the agency, such as a port terminal in Red Hook, New York, from opposition by the “New Jersey side”. Foye ordered that Wildstein’s photograph be posted at all Port Authority facilities.
Foye said that Wildstein “terrorized people”, tried to tap the phones of co-workers and was hated by “hundreds and thousands” of people at the agency.
“It’s complicated. Practically complicated”, he said. Later that day, he testified, he met twice with deputy executive director Bill Baroni, Christie’s top appointee to the agency.
Wildstein is expected to admit to bragging to Christie about the closure as it was happening during the trial.
Wildstein was a high school classmate of Christie’s, but Christie has denied having a close relationship with him. Chief Bendul said he was angry and that he told Mr. He described receiving invitations to parties, New York Giants football games and a lunch at the governor’s mansion in Princeton, beginning soon after Christie took office in early 2010.
It wasn’t just that Wildstein couldn’t be fired because of his political juice. This is important to senior people in Trenton, which is shorthand for the New Jersey governor’s office.
Foye’s chief of staff, John Ma, also testified on Thursday, describing a call he had on the fourth day of the traffic jams with John Cichowski, a Bergen Record reporter who called before printing the first story about the debacle.
On Wednesday, Foye testified that he ultimately approved a Port Authority statement, from Wildstein and Baroni, that the traffic jams were the result of a traffic study, knowing it was false.
Port Authority of NY and New Jersey executive director Patrick Foye testified Thursday that was part of the reason he didn’t interview David Wildstein during an internal review of the September 2013 traffic jams in Fort Lee. “I had no reason to interview him”, he told the jury.
Earlier Tuesday, Fort Lee Police Chief Keith Bendul recounted meeting Robert Durando, the Port Authority official in charge of the bridge, in a municipal lot on the first day of the lane realignment. “I was petrified”, the mayor said. “The reason I made the off-the-record call was to have to reporter ask more questions”. It wasn’t for attribution.
‘I didn’t want Fort Lee and myself, all by ourselves, there facing retribution and getting beat up.
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The call was no secret to Foye. “I do”, he said.
