Multimillion-dollar worldwide hacking scheme revealed

New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman

(Star-Ledger file photo)

NEWARK -- Charges will be filed this morning in the Bridgegate scandal, following a long-running federal probe into the 2013 lane closures at the George Washington Bridge that were allegedly orchestrated as an act of political retribution.

UPDATE:

The U.S. Attorney's office did not indicate who may be facing possible indictment, or specify the nature of the charges, saying only there were developments related to the 16-month investigation being announced today.

A press conference has been scheduled for 1 p.m. today in Newark, following what was called "a proceeding of interest in a criminal matter" related to the investigation scheduled for 11 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton.

At least one of those charged in the high-profile case reportedly will plead guilty this morning. According to Bloomberg, David Wildstein, a key figure in the investigation, will enter a guilty plea. At his Montville home, a white SUV could be seen leaving at 5 a.m. and moving down the street at high speed.

As Wildstein arrived at the courthouse this morning, photographers outside scrambled to identify the man they just photographed. He had lost a lot of weight since his last public appearance and everyone was stunned.

Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich began a normal business day at his law office, meeting with a client. Afterward, he told NJ Advance Media he will comment later today.

"This is not going to be an easy day," Sokolich said.

A federal grand jury had been hearing evidence in the case for months.

THE BACKGROUND: How the Bridgegate scandal unfolded

The investigation reached deep into the administration of Gov. Chris Christie, who has denied any knowledge of the shutdowns that paralyzed Fort Lee for days in September 2013. The governor himself, a Republican widely expected to enter the race for president and once considered a front-runner, has never been accused of any wrongdoing. But what impact any indictments might have on his potential candidacy is yet to be known.

An internal investigation conducted at the direction of the governor himself had blamed the bridge scheme on a rogue "black ops" operation devised by those involved in Christie's gubernatorial re-election campaign, reportedly looking to punish Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, after the Democrat changed his mind on his expected endorsement of the governor.

The inquiry by the U.S. Attorney's office, however, soon expanded beyond the bridge, looking into whether David Samson, a close Christie ally and adviser, used his position as chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey -- which operates the George Washington Bridge -- to steer contracts and business to his powerful law firm, Wolff & Samson.

Samson stepped down from the Port Authority last year. He retired from his law firm last month, which was quickly renamed. No one answered the door at his home this morning.

A TRAFFIC STUDY

The toll lane closures seemed unremarkable at the time, other than the havoc caused on Fort Lee streets. Port Authority officials at first said nothing, and later insisted the shutdown of two out of three toll lanes serving Fort Lee access roads were part of a "traffic study." However, there was no evidence that any traffic study had ever been authorized, and many soon began openly speculating that it was a game of political payback targeting Sokolich.

Christie initially dismissed suggestions that his aides may have played a role in the closures at the nation's most heavily trafficked bridge turning at first to humor to brush aside such suggestions at a Dec. 2, 2013, news conference.

"I worked the cones," he joked. "Unbeknownst to anyone, I was working the cones."

But within days, David Wildstein, a former political blogger and mayor of Livingston who served as the Port Authority' director of interstate capital projects -- a $150,000-a-year position with no job description -- resigned. And a week later, the man who hired him -- Bill Baroni, the deputy executive director of the Port Authority and a Christie appointee -- stepped down as well.

The federal investigation was launched after the state Legislature, which began a series of hearings into bridge incident, released 22 pages of private e-mails and text messages providing the first stunning evidence that the bridge closures may have been in fact politically motivated. According to documents released in the case Bridget Anne Kelly, the governor's deputy chief of staff, contacted Wildstein, after learning of Sokolich's defection.

"Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," she wrote in an email to Wildstein in August 2013.

"Got it," he replied.

A month later, two of three bridge lanes were shut down without warning for four days.

The emails drew public outrage and attracted the attention of U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, who said his office was reviewing the matter "to determine whether a federal law was implicated."

The first subpoenas came within a matter of days.

The faces of Bridgegate 12 Gallery: The faces of Bridgegate

Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Thomas Zambito may be reached at tzambito@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomZambito. Find NJ.com on Facebook.