The Port Authority executive director testifies on the fallout after discovering what was going on in Fort Lee, as its mayor conceded he lied when he denied the traffic tie-ups at the heart of the Bridgegate charges might have been politically motivated.
NEWARK--Patrick Foye, the executive director of the Port Authority, wanted a witness when he confronted his New Jersey counterpart about a series of inexplicable toll lane shutdowns at the George Washington Bridge.
"I thought what had happened was--in my experience at the Port Authority--unprecedented," Foye testified Wednesday in federal court.
So when he finally met Bill Baroni, the agency's deputy executive director who was one of those involved in the September 2013 incident involving the unannounced closure of several local toll lanes at the bridge, he made sure to bring in his chief of staff to sit in on the conversation.
"I thought something weird and problematic had happened," he said. He wanted someone in the room to hear what he heard.
The hidden drama that played out in the days and weeks after the lane closings came to light Wednesday as federal prosecutors and defense attorneys focused on the inconsistent stories and outright lies that were told in the wake of the bizarre goings-on at the bridge -- a scheme allegedly orchestrated by campaign operatives tied Gov. Chris Christie's 2013 re-election effort in a game of political retribution.
Prosecutors allege the scheme was orchestrated by campaign operatives tied Gov. Chris Christie's 2013 re-election effort in a game of political retribution.
Foye, an appointee of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, said he was mystified by the lane closures, and, more significantly, distrustful of the orchestrator, David Wildstein, a political appointee to the Port Authority who he recalled as a man feared by many at the agency.
Yet after ordering the toll lanes reopened, Foye acknowledged that he agreed to put out a press release prepared by Baroni asserting it was all part of a legitimate traffic study--despite knowing full well that the claim was untrue.
"I saw it as Bill Baroni's mess. David Wildstein's mess," the executive director explained. "I was okay with it going out."
On trial in U.S. District Court in Newark are Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly, the governor's former deputy chief of staff, who are charged with nine counts of conspiracy and fraud in connection with the lane closures at the bridge that prosecutors say was aimed at punishing Democratic Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich after he declined to endorse Christie, a Republican, for a second term.
Wildstein has already pleaded guilty and is expected to testify.
The lane shutdowns, which eliminated two out of three local access lanes dedicated to George Washington Bridge traffic out of Fort Lee, led to massive traffic jams that blocked cars, school buses and emergency vehicles for nearly a week.
It did not end until Foye learned about the shutdowns from a reporter's call and ordered the lanes re-opened.
Earlier Wednesday, Sokolich, continuing a second day of testimony, told the jury about his own failed efforts to end the traffic nightmare, with a series of unanswered calls, letters, texts and emails to Baroni, a man who had held himself out as his friend.
"My frustration is now trying to figure out who is mad at me," he told Baroni in one text.
The mayor, who had been wooed by he Christie campaign for months, said he concluded early on that the lane closures had to be "punitive in nature."
However, he was pressured in cross-examination by defense attorney Michael Critchley over a letter he wrote to The Star-Ledger after the 2013 election.
In the letter, he denied the lane closures were the result of his refusal to support the governor, strongly objecting to a story by the newspaper on what might have sparked the scheme.
"It's a little inconsistent," remarked Critchley. Proud of yourself? Lying to the public?"
"I am not proud," Sokolich admitted. But he claimed he was petrified that if he went public, he would be subject to further retribution by the governor's office or the state agencies that had oversight over a major new redevelopment project in Fort Lee.
"I wanted to do everything to keep everything possible to keep Fort Lee out of this story. I wanted it to go away as much as anyone. I wanted it to die on the vine," he said.
Foye, in his testimony, said the Port Authority never conducted traffic studies by actually shutting down roads. Upon learning about the toll lane shutdowns, he said sent out an email calling the move to block the lanes an "abusive decision which violates everything this agency stands for."
Foye put his order in writing, he said, because he "wanted to be clear about what had happened and about what I had been told. I wanted to have a record."
When Baroni, a Christie appointee, quickly lobbied to have the lane closures be re-instated, Foye said the deputy executive director told him "it's important to Trenton."
Foye refused, but allowed the release of a press statement sent to him by Baroni that claimed the lanes were closed as part of a Port Authority review of traffic safety patterns.
"Bill asked for it," he shrugged.
"Giving false statements to the public--is that in the public interest?" Critchley asked him.
"Immaterial," Foye responded.
Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or on Facebook. Follow NJ.com Politics on Facebook.