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Gov. Chris Christie channeled $6 million in Sandy relief money to a project in Belleville -- a town with little Sandy damage, but a valuable political ally.

(Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-Ledger)

Looks like we must send out a new batch of subpoenas, this time over fresh and powerful evidence that the governor personally misused Hurricane Sandy funds to win an endorsement from a Democrat.

This sounds like Hoboken in reverse. While Mayor Dawn Zimmer accuses the administration of withholding Sandy aid for political reasons in her city, the evidence in Belleville indicates that the governor provided extra aid for a mayor who was willing to dance.

And here, the governor was directly involved.

First, a reality check: The Sandy aid that New Jersey received was intended to help the victims of the storm, not as a political slush fund. The governor peeled off some of it for a TV campaign featuring himself and his family during the re-election campaign, a shameless stunt that is now under federal investigation. If Zimmer's charges are true, he withheld aid from Hoboken in a bid to pressure her to approve a real estate project.

The latest twist comes from Belleville, where The Star-Ledger's Matt Friedman reported that Christie personally pushed his senior staff to provide a Sandy grant to help build a senior-citizen housing complex. And -- surprise -- the mayor endorsed the governor for re-election two weeks later.

So did Joseph DiVincenzo, the Democratic Essex County executive who was also pushing for this project. It was the type of support Christie coveted, to bolster his bipartisan credentials in anticipation of a future presidential run.

As a result, the relatively unscathed township of Belleville got more disaster recovery dollars to rebuild rental housing than some harder-hit towns. Even though the Belleville mayor himself conceded that his residents weren't displaced by Sandy.

And the governor's fingerprints are all over it. Christie personally steered $6 million of federal Sandy recovery dollars to the project, a senior center and housing complex that was planned well before Sandy hit. At the ceremonial groundbreaking in Belleville on May 29, Christie recounted how he called Richard Constable, head of the state's rebuilding programs, "every day" to tell him to get relief money to this project:

"We get on them and things get done," the governor said.

So never mind the merits. This was about politics. And that is simply wrong. Sandy victims everywhere should be furious.

It also raises new questions about Hoboken. Zimmer insists that Christie's officials -- including Constable -- linked Sandy aid to her approval of a downtown development that was represented by David Samson, a Christie confidant who is chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

So was the governor behind that threat? His aides have denied it. But when asked if there was any contact between the governor's office and the people who hand out Sandy relief in Hoboken, they refuse to answer. A public records request is pending.

Let's face it: Does anyone at this stage really believe the governor's claim that these grants are awarded based on merit and need?

The pitch in Belleville was particularly weak. The point was to help seniors in Belleville "remain in their hometown, where they belong," the mayor said. DiVincenzo said the priority would be to accept Belleville seniors -- not displaced Sandy victims.

The governor could put this one to rest by answering questions and releasing documents. But he is stonewalling instead. So let's add Belleville to our list of growing scandals, along with the George Washington Bridge and Hoboken.

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