Update: N.J. power broker charged for alleged role in 'chairman's flight'

NEWARK - David Samson - the embattled former chairman of the powerful Port Authority of New York and New Jersey - pleaded guilty Thursday afternoon to using his considerable clout to coerce one of the nation's largest airlines to accommodate his desire for a regularly scheduled, non-stop flight to his South Carolina summer home.

Samson, 76, a well-connected lawyer and one-time New Jersey attorney general who served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, pleaded guilty to one charge of bribery for accepting a benefit of more than $5,000 from United Airlines before U.S. District Judge Jose L. Linares.

At the same time, United--which was not criminally charged--agreed to pay a fine of $2.25 million and pledged to institute "substantial reforms" to its compliance program.

The guilty plea, meanwhile, could make things more complicated for Gov. Chris Christie, a close friend to Samson and now a top advisor to presumed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. The governor was reportedly on Trump's short list for vice president.

During a 30-minute court hearing on Thursday, Samson admitted that he had a dinner with a consultant and United Airlines officials in September, 2011, at which they discussed a discontinued flight from Newark Liberty International Airport to Columbia, S.C., near his second home.

Under questioning by Linares, Samson admitted that he "let it be known that the flight.. made it more convenient" for him to get to his home in South Carolina.

Samson also admitted he removed from the Port Authority's agenda a plan by United to build a hangar for wide-body airplanes after being told United was not planning to reinstate the route.

Under Linares' questioning, Samson said the consultant told him "it would be helpful" for United if the hangar plan was put back on the agenda the following month. On Dec. 8, 2011, the hangar was approved by the Port Authority board. United then reinstated the South Carolina flight.

Samson acknowledged that the flight was called "the Chairman's flight," and that he took it about 27 times through 2013.

Samson could get a sentence ranging from probation to up to 24 months in prison, although the crime to which he pleaded guilty has a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, prosecutors said.

Samson's lawyers declined comment after the hearing and would not say whether their client would cooperate with federal authorities.

"Next you'll hear from us is at the sentencing," said attorney Michael Chertoff. "But it's a sad day."

His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 20.

Shortly after Samson's plea, a second shoe dropped. U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman announced at a press conference that former state transportation commissioner Jamie Fox also had been charged in the case.

"They both should have known better. They both did know better," Fishman declared, calling the case a betrayal of trust. "It breathes more life into the cynical view that all people in government are corrupt," he said.

Fox, an influential Democratic operative and campaign adviser, allegedly helped Samson strong-arm United into creating the flight. Fox is charged with conspiracy to commit bribery. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

The Port Authority issued a statement shortly after Samson's court hearing, saying the agency "will continue to be fully cooperative in all matters under investigation. Following today's plea, we will continue to move forward with the reforms that have been adopted and embraced by all members of the Port Authority and its leadership."

It was a stunning downfall of a man once respected for his integrity, acumen and ability to get things done behind-the-scenes, coming after a nearly two-year investigation by federal prosecutors, sparked by an ongoing inquiry into the Port Authority in the wake of the so-called Bridgegate scandal.

In that case, which led to criminal charges against two members of the governor's inner circle, prosecutors have charged a former Port Authority executive and an aide to Christie with helping orchestrate the 2013 toll lane shutdowns at the George Washington Bridge, allegedly as an act of political retribution against the mayor of Fort Lee after he decline to endorse Christie for re-election.

A close confidant of Christie, Samson was chairman of the Port Authority when the scandal broke, but was not charged with any wrongdoing in connection with the lane closures. However, his name repeatedly came up as the story unfolded.

In the midst of the initial furor over the closing of two of three toll lanes on the George Washington Bridge, David Wildstein, a political appointee to the Port Authority, wrote: "We are appropriately going nuts. Samson helping us retaliate."

In a later e-mail, Samson complained to a fellow Port Authority commissioner about the agency's executive director, Patrick Foye, who had ordered the bridge lanes reopened. He believed Foye had leaked a critical story to the media.

"This is yet another example of a story, we've seen it before, where he distances himself from an issue in the press and rides in on a white horse to save the day. (If you need prior examples I will provide) In this case, he's playing in traffic, made a big mistake," Samson wrote in an email later released by a legislative committee investigating the so-called Bridgegate scandal.

But the chairman came under increasing scrutiny in the months that followed, as questions grew over the agency's awarding of millions of dollars in lucrative public contracts tied to clients of his law firm, Wolff & Samson.

It was Samson's lobbying of United Airlines on behalf of himself, however, that led to criminal charges of corruption.

At issue was a direct flight from New Jersey to South Carolina that began in September 2012 when Samson was then chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey--which manages Newark Liberty International Airport. The twice-weekly direct flight, which was rarely filled, charted a route from Newark Liberty Airport to Columbia Metropolitan Airport, located in West Columbia, S.C., and cut Samson's travel time to his second home by hours.

The flight was arranged by United while it was in negotiations with the Port Authority and the Christie administration on an expansion of service to Atlantic City and an extension of the PATH train to Newark Airport.

The airline, the largest air carrier at Newark Liberty, canceled the flight just days after Samson stepped down from the Port Authority in March 2014. Federal prosecutors began subpoenaing records about the flight from both United Airlines and the Port Authority more than a year ago and an internal investigation by United led to the ouster of its chief executive officer, Jeff Smisek, and two other senior executives in September 2015.

Samson, a prolific Republican fundraiser who served as a former state attorney general under Gov. Jim McGreevey, a Democrat, remained a close friend and advisor of Christie, who named him to his transition team following his election and then to the Port Authority in 2011.

After his resignation, with the investigation into his dealings continuing, Samson last year announced his retirement from the 43-year-old law firm he co-founded, citing "personal, professional and health reasons.

Tim Darragh may be reached at tdarragh@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @timdarragh. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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