NEWARK -- The George Washington Bridge lane closure criminal trial has pulled back the curtain on parts of the inner workings of New Jersey's government -- including an expletive-driven tirade from Gov. Chris Christie.

During his testimony Wednesday, former Christie staffer Chris Stark recalled an incident involving Monmouth County Freeholder John Curley.

Two days after Hurricane Sandy in the fall of 2012, Curley expressed his outrage over what he thought was Christie doing nothing but posing for the cameras.

"Who does that fat (expletive) think he is?" Curley said, according to Stark's testimony.

(Curley later said he added the word "mother" to his expletive-laced insult he made about the governor to members of Christie's cabinet.)

The next day, Curley got a call on his cell phone from the governor.

Stark recalled Christie "called him (and) told him that he needed to be in Keansburg, (and he) also used some strong language."

"Tell us what you understood," pressed Michael Critchley, defense attorney for Bridget Anne Kelly, the governor's former deputy chief of staff,who with Bill Baroni, once a close associate and deputy executive director of the Port Authority, are charged with nine counts of conspiracy, fraud and related charges in connection with the September 2013 toll lane shutdowns at the bridge.

Stark responded: "All right. From what I understood of the conversation, the governor told Mr. Curley: 'Who the (expletive) do you think you are calling me a fat (expletive)? I'm the (expletive) governor of this state. If you're not in Keansburg standing behind me tomorrow at the podium, I will (expletive) destroy you. I will have a robo-call sent out to every Republican in Monmouth County before Election Day telling them not to vote for you."

The freeholder was duly standing behind the governor for the event and Curley confirmed on Wednesday that Stark's recollection was accurate.

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or on Facebook. Follow NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Facebook: @TedSherman.reporter.