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By Ted Sherman | NJ Advance Media

David Samson, the former chairman of the Port Authority, faces sentencing Monday on bribery charges in connection with a scheme to force United Airlines to schedule a non-stop flight for his sole benefit. Samson wanted the airline to fly from Newark Liberty International Airport to South Carolina, where he had a second home.

The one-time state attorney general and high-power attorney admitted he abused his power to coerce one of the nation's largest airlines into putting the money-losing route into service, by withholding approval of a critical new maintenance facility at the Newark Liberty, which is operated by the Port Authority.

In a series of pre-sentence legal briefs filed last week with U.S. District Judge Jose Linares, the U.S. Attorney's office provided new details on the bizarre scheme that could put Samson, 77, in prison for as many as 24 months.

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(Brian Donohue | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Rest Period

Samson and his wife owned a horse country estate in Aiken, S.C., they called "Rest Period," which refers to the break in play during a polo match. After Samson bought the home, an interior designer told Augusta magazine he "decorated the entire house from floorboards to ceilings with 18th- and 19th-century French and Italian antiques."

Long before becoming Port Authority chairman, Samson would often travel to the home on a Continental Airlines' non-stop route between Newark Airport and Columbia, just a short drive to Aiken. However, Continental Airlines (which later merged with United Airlines) discontinued the Newark/Columbia route for business reasons in 2009, forcing Samson to fly from Newark to Charlotte in North Carolina, a far longer drive to Aiken.

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Samson with Gov. Chris Christie. (Tony Kurdzuk | Star-Ledger file photo)

The Chairman

In early 2011, Samson, a friend and mentor to Gov. Chris Christie, was appointed by the governor to serve as chairman of the Port Authority board.

While the board itself was responsible for approving the Port Authority's budgets and certain transactions and expenditures, including large leases, the chairman wielded much power. It was Samson's responsibility to decide which items would be placed on the agenda for a vote by the full board. The commissioners could only approve those items that were on the formal agenda.

Federal prosecutors said Samson's ability to control the agenda gave him the ability to kill or delay Port Authority transactions, even those that were not controversial.

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(Ed Murray | Star-Ledger file photo)

The Hanger

In 2011, United, the largest carrier at Newark Liberty, went to the Port Authority seeking to lease a tract of land for the construction of a wide-body aircraft maintenance hangar, said prosecutors. The facility would allow the airline to perform maintenance on its fleet of wide-body aircraft at Newark, rather than doing the work elsewhere--costing the airline time and money.

United met with the Port Authority's Aviation Department to negotiate an agreement for the lease of three acres of land.

But before the agreement could be finalized, it had to be approved by the Port Authority board. And the only way that was going to happen was if Samson placed the agreement on the agenda.

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(Andrew Miller | For The Times of Trenton)

Flight of fancy

Meanwhile, prosecutors said Samson, after becoming chairman, already was looking to have United Airlines reinstate his favorite non-stop flight to Columbia.

They said on Feb. 18, 2011, Samson had a phone conversation with Jamie Fox, a friend and lobbyist who was then serving as a consultant to United (and would later be appointed by Christie as state transportation commissioner.)

Fox immediately sent off an email to a United vice president after the call: "Fyi. Samson has home in columnbia [sic], sc and has asked me repeatedly about flight from newark."

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(Pixabay | Stock photo)

The dinner

On Sept. 13, 2011, Samson had a dinner at Novita, an Italian restaurant in New York, with four United executives--including airline CEO Jeff Smisek and a key vice president responsible for United's interactions with the Port Authority. Also present was Bill Baroni, the Port Authority's deputy executive director, and Fox.

Prosecutors said during the dinner, there was discussion of certain of United's priorities for Newark Airport. However, the talk soon turned from business to a purely personal request by Samson.

"He described that Continental formerly had flown a nonstop route between Newark Airport and Columbia Airport," prosecutors said in their brief to the court. And he asked Smisek to consider reinstating that nonstop route.

They said while the CEO was not familiar with the route, he told Samson that United "generally stopped flying routes because they were unprofitable." Still, he promised that United would look into the Newark/Columbia Route.

The following day, Samson got in touch again with Fox. "I only want you to be happy-and me too, of course, about the Columbia, SC flight," he said in a message.

Prosecutors said Fox assured him that he was "on it."

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(Manuel Balce Ceneta | AP file photo)

Dancing to the tune

According to the legal brief filed by prosecutors, Samson continued to talk about how serious he was about obtaining the Newark/Columbia Route from United, and how he relished the hunt.

A short time after the dinner at Novita, Fox told Samson that Jeff Smisek (above) had instructed another senior-level United executive "to take a second look at Columbia."

"Good," said Samson. "I hope they dance to my tune---let me know if there's a way to keep the pressure on this issue: it will save me a lot of heartache."

The U.S. Attorney’s office said Fox worked to have United reinstate the Newark to Columbia Route.

But despite his efforts, United was reluctant to schedule a flight it was certain was going to lose money. Finally on Oct. 18, 2011, Fox learned that United appeared unlikely to reinstate the route. He sent an email to Samson.

“It is not looking good,” he said. But Fox assured the Port Authority chairman the quest was not over: “I am going up the ladder,” he said.

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(John Munson | Star-Ledger file photo)

'I hate myself...'

Shortly after the email exchange between Fox and Samson, the Port Authority's Aviation Department submitted the hangar agreement to the Office of the Secretary of the Port Authority, which is responsible for preparing the board agenda. The proposal went on the agenda for the Port Authority board's Nov. 15, 2011, meeting.

Samson saw the draft board agenda on Nov. 1, 2011, according to prosecutors. The next day, he followed up with Fox, asking if there was "any news" on the Newark/Columbia Route. Fox responded that he would be flying to Chicago to visit with United and that the route was on his list of items to discuss. Samson, in a reference to the hanger project on the board agenda, emailed back: "In the meantime, I am reviewing current board agenda items of interest."

"One on newark airport [sic] I think coming up," Fox acknowledged.

"Yes, it's already off this month's agenda: I hate myself," said Samson.

On Nov. 9, he pulled the hangar agreement from the board agenda.

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(Mel Evans | AP file photo)

No more dinners

The day before the Port Authority board meeting, Samson learned United was not going to bring back the flight to Columbia. "very, very disappopinted [sic]- no more dinners with Smisek," complained Samson.

The day after the board meeting, prosecutors said Fox emailed another high-level United executive, saying he was "worried about Samson [sic] view of company."

Prosecutors said Fox and the airline executive had a series of phone calls in the wake of the meeting, discussing Samson's anger with United's lack of action on the Newark to Columbia route. They said the consultant told the airline that reinstating the route was important for United's relationship with the Port Authority. Airline executive agreed to become involved personally in evaluating the reinstatement of the Newark to Columbia Route.

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(John Munson | Star-Ledger file photo)

Making the deal

As the next board meeting approached, on Dec. 7, 2011, Samson emailed Fox again and said he had instructed the removal of the hanger agreement from the next board agenda as well.

"Let me know if/when remedial action is appropriate," he wrote.

But prosecutors said Fox had gotten word that there might be movement on the chairman's request.

"I think it would be a good time to put back on the agenda," he wrote.

"Will do," Samson wrote.

The hangar agreement was put back on the December board agenda, and the item passed unanimously.

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(Gene J. Puskar | AP file photo)

The Chairman's Flight

After talking with United, Fox emailed Samson that "it worked" and that United had called to discuss how to get it done.

"Finally have their attention," he said. "Having item off/on this week worked."

After the December meeting, United agreed to put into service a Newark to Columbia route.

Prosecutors said because it was being created solely for Samson's convenience, the airline checked to see what days he preferred to travel. Samson said he wanted to depart from Newark Airport on Thursday evening and to return on Monday morning.

In accordance with his wishes, United initiated weekly flights from Newark Airport to Columbia Airport, departing at 6 p.m. on Thursdays (with a returning flight the same night) and from Columbia Airport to Newark Airport departing at 6:20 a.m. on Mondays (after a flight down to Columbia Airport the evening before).

He celebrated by referring to the route as the "Chairman's Flight."

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The route was never well-traveled.

Prosecutors said the average number of passengers on the flights was 24, less than half of the 50 seats on the plane.

In January 2013, Samson exchanged emails with a friend who was flying from Newark to visit him in Aiken. When the friend told Samson there were only 17 people on the flight, Samson responded "that's crowded."

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(Michael Dempsey | The Jersey Journal)

.m

In March 2014, as prosecutors continued a barrage of subpoenas of the Port Authority in the wake of the Bridgegate scandal, Samson, who was under fire over contracts with the agency that benefited his politically connected law firm, abruptly resigned as chairman of the agency.

In a two-sentence statement, Samson said only: "Over the past months, I have shared with the governor my desire to conclude my service to the PANYNJ. The timing is now right, and I am confident that the governor will put new leadership in place to address the many challenges ahead."

Within days of his leaving, United cancelled the chairman's flight.

Prosecutors said the route lost approximately $945,000 before it was grounded.

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Justin Walder with David Samson. (Robert Sciarrino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Guilty

Last July, Samson, accompanied by his attorney, Justin Walder, entered the federal courthouse in Newark to plead guilty to one charge of bribery in connection with the Columbia flight.

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. Its CEO, Jeff Smisek, was already out, resigning in September 2015 with the two other top-ranking executives who had met with Samson to have dinner at Novita, following an internal investigation by the company.

Fox was criminally charged as well, but illness put his case in limbo and he died in February.

Defense attorneys have not disputed that Samson tried to game the system. “His simple aim was to secure a more convenient travel schedule, a benefit that he had been told United and other airlines often afforded to other public officials like himself," they wrote in court filings. "David had no conception of what the economics of reinstating the flight were, nor did he foresee that it could result in a loss to United.”

But the U.S. Attorneys office, in response, said Samson abused his power in a "stunning and audacious" manner.

“By stalling consideration of a carefully-negotiated lease that was important to the business of the Port Authority and United Airlines, Samson pressured United to institute service that made it possible for him to fly non-stop from Newark to Columbia, South Carolina on Thursday evenings and to return to Newark on Monday mornings," they wrote.

They said there were few instances in which public officials “have had the moxie to demand something so grand.”

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