A Christie appointee to the Port Authority was given a heads up to the lane closure scheme, David Wildstein said.
NEWARK -- The prosecution's star witness in the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal trial said Monday that a Gov. Chris Christie Port Authority appointee to the board of commissioners had advance notice of the political revenge scheme.
David Wildstein, who pleaded guilty to his role in the Bridgegate scandal, testified he told William "Pat" Schuber, who Christie appointed to the authority's board of commissioners in 2011, of the plan to shut down Fort Lee access lanes to the bridge.
"I told Commissioner Schuber that in a couple weeks there was going to be significant traffic," Wildstein said, referring to the meeting he had with Schuber only weeks before the plan was put in motion.
He said he told Schuber that "the instructions come from the governor's office." and it was aimed at Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich.
"He said he understood," Wildstein testified.
Wildstein: Bridgegate email was not a joke
"I viewed Mr. Schuber as a loyal member of Gov. Christie's team," he said. "Mr. Schuber said he understood."
However, the commissioner denied he was ever told.
William "Pat" Schuber, a Port Authority commissioner, testifies before the state legislative committee investigating the George Washington Bridge scandal in 2014. "It's very surprising because I don't recall that at all and wouldn't have agreed to it," Schuber told NJ Advance Media Monday afternoon.
When asked why Wildstein would testify to the contrary, Schuber declined to comment.
"I'm not going to speculate," he said.
Schuber is a former mayor of Bogota and Republican assemblyman. Prior to joining the Port Authority's Board of Commissioners, Schuber served as the Bergen County executive for 12 years.
Wildstein told jurors that weeks before the September 2013 lane closures that he sent Schuber an email telling him he wanted to discuss, among other things, a "local Fort Lee/GWB issue."
The next day, the two met at the River Edge Diner, Wildstein said, where Schuber was told of the plans to retaliate against Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for not endorsing Christie's re-election bid.
Schuber was told if he received any calls or complaints about the gridlock that he should tell people to contact Bill Baroni, Wildstein said.
Baroni, Christie's top appointee to the Port Authority, and Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie's deputy chief of staff, were charged with nine counts of conspiracy, fraud and related charges in connection with the toll lane shutdowns at the bridge.
Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or on Facebook. Follow NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL.