port authority chairman david samson.JPG

David Samson, chairman of the Port Authority and partner in the powerful Wolff & Samson law firm, was appointed Port Authority chairman by Gov. Chris Christie in 2011.

(Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-Ledger)

TRENTON — Records turned over to the state legislative committee investigating the George Washington Bridge lane closings show the chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, David Samson, has been "intimately involved" with day-to-day operations.

Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), a co-chair of the panel, said Monday the documents provided by Samson included his many communications with Gov. Chris Christie’s administration, though none show direct contact with Christie.

"It paints a picture of a guy that’s intimately involved in the operations at the Port Authority," Wisniewski said. "He’s not a chairman of the board in a traditional sense, but a guy who’s making a lot of phone calls back and forth with folks down in Trenton."

Samson, one of the most prominent legal figures in the state and a longtime adviser to Christie, faces mounting questions about potential conflicts between his work at the Port Authority and the work of his high-profile, private law firm Wolff & Samson.

Most recently, a Star-Ledger review found Samson voted to award millions of dollars in Port Authority contracts to a company whose owner is represented by Samson’s law firm in a hotly contested and lucrative legal fight involving a railroad construction company.

Wisniewski said it would be hard for Samson to distance himself from the Port Authority by saying he only attends meetings and votes.

"When you see the intimate level of involvement, it’s hard to even come with a rationale why it’s not a conflict," Wisniewski said. "It becomes clear when you look at everything as a totality that the Port Authority really became a subdivision in the governor’s office."

A spokeswoman for Samson could not be reached for comment.

Wisniewski said the communications also cast doubt on Christie’s insistence that he knew nothing about the September lane closings until after access was restored. The governor’s senior staff was involved, but no evidence has emerged directly linking Christie to the decision.

"When you look at the number of people in that upper echelon with the governor and their routine involvement with the Port Authority, and in particular in some cases with this issue, you just kind of shake your head and say how is that possible?" he said.

DOCUMENTS PILE UP

The governor’s office did not return a request for comment.

Wisniewski said the legislative committee began receiving responses to the 18 subpoenas for records issued earlier this month, but the process will take several more days, if not longer. The panel is still receiving records in response to 20 subpoenas issued last month.

A criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office continues with word that Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, who was thrust into the national spotlight after the lane closings gridlocked his borough, met with federal prosecutors for more than three hours.

"Mayor Sokolich voluntarily met on Friday with members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark to discuss the lane closures at the George Washington Bridge this past September," his attorney Tim Donohue said in a statement. Donohue declined to comment on the discussions.

Sokolich, a Democrat, and other members of his party believe the lane closings were orchestrated by supporters of Christie as retribution for his decision not to back the governor’s re-election.

"The mayor is grateful for the efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the mayor and his entire administration will continue to cooperate fully with this investigation as well as the Select Committee’s investigation," Donohue said.

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