Key witness for the prosecution says Christie's campaign manager and a Port Authority commissioner were aware of the scheme to cause traffic chaos as political retribution.
NEWARK--The day David Wildstein unleashed a traffic nightmare of epic proportions on Fort Lee to punish Mayor Mark Sokolich for his refusal to endorse Gov. Chris Christie, he claimed the governor's own campaign manager was already aware of the plan.
Testifying for the second day in federal court in the Bridgegate trial, Wildstein said he informed Bill Stepien, who now works for the Trump campaign, that he was moving forward with a ploy to shut down local access lanes at the George Washington Bridge in a scheme of political retaliation targeting the local mayor.
Wildstein added, though, that he did not keep Stepien informed as the plan was enacted, and, in fact, Stepien told him he did not want to be involved in Port Authority business.
Wildstein also testified he told Port Authority Commissioner William "Pat" Schuber, considered "a loyal member" of Gov. Christie's team and an appointee of the governor. Days before the September 2013 incident, he recalled sitting down for breakfast with Schuber at the River Edge Diner, informing the former Bergen County executive that the direction regarding the lane closures had come from the governor's office, and told him specifically it was aimed at Sokolich.
"He said he understood," Wildstein said.
Neither Stepien nor Schuber have been charged in the case and both denied Wildstein's assertions.
Schuber said he never discussed the matter with Wildstein. Stepien's attorney said his client had done nothing wrong and had no role in planning, approving or concealing the "ill-advised scheme" to close access lanes to the bridge.
The email Wildstein sent to Schuber, alerting to a "Fort Lee issue." (U.S. Attorney's office court exhibit)The new revelations in the so-called Bridgegate trial came after a second day of testimony in which Wildstein spoke matter-of-factly about the political pursuit of Sokolich and other Democrats to endorse Christie for re-election in an effort to show he had bi-partisan support as he considered a presidential run.
The endorsement pursuit, Wildstein said, began almost as soon as Christie first entered office, and he described how he concocted the toll lane shutdowns early on as a "leverage point" to be used against the Fort Lee mayor after he decided not to endorse.
The government's key witness in the trial now playing out in federal court in Newark, Wildstein has already pleaded guilty in the scandal that enveloped the Christie administration while the governor was still seeking the Republican nomination for presidency, and may have had a role in dooming his candidacy.
The U.S. Attorney's office has charged two other former members of the governor's inner circle in the case--Bill Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority, and Kelly, who served as Christie's deputy chief of staff. They face nine counts of conspiracy and fraud in connection with the September 2013 lane closures.
The governor has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
Remarkable day at Bridgegate trial
Wildstein in his testimony detailed how the administration routinely used Port Authority resources to bolster political support among Democrats seen as friends of Christie, including as hundreds of thousands in grants, special tours, and the giveaway of surplus vehicles and other equipment. Among those grants, he said, included money from a Port Authority fund that was earmarked for parks improvements in Essex County. County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, a major Democratic power broker, later endorsed Christie.
Wildstein said he had long viewed Sokolich as an opportunity because he had endorsed some of the governor's early legislative initiatives. The Port Authority arranged for personal tours of Ground Zero for the mayor and family members. It assigned a Port Authority police officer to help direct traffic at the entrance to the Fort Lee toll plaza, after the mayor one year complained of traffic backups.
Under questioning by assistant U.S. attorney Lee Cortes, Wildstein detailed messages he sent to Stepien, who then was serving as head of the governor's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, of the support Sokolich had expressed during a tour of Ground Zero.
"I am a Democrat. Chris Christie is a great guy. I don't mind saying that," he said Sokolich told him.
Stepien, who later would move to head the governor's re-election campaign, responded: "It's good to be an incumbent with stuff to offer..."
Wildstein said Sokolich was viewed by the administration as a good guy. "A solid guy. And the governor really likes him," he testified.
Still, in 2011, Wilstein said when he saw three lanes set off by orange traffic cones at the George Washington Bridge toll plaza being set aside for cars and trucks coming out of Fort Lee heading for the George Washington Bridge, a light bulb went off.
"I thought it would be a potential leverage point against Mayor Sokolich sometime down the road," he testified. He said he knew if the lanes were eliminated, traffic would quickly build.
As the mayor continued to hold back on an endorsement, he said he finally brought up the "leverage point" to Kelly of using the bridge to deliberately flood Fort Lee with traffic.
"I made her aware of the potential leverage and that if it was needed to let me know," he testified.
And in August, after Kelly learned that Sokolich had decided not to endorse, she sent a now-famous message to Wildstein: "Time for traffic problems in Fort Lee," she said.
Wildstein said he immediately began putting together a plan to implement the unauthorized closures of two of the three Fort Lee toll lanes, making sure that it did not leak out to the agency's executive director. He said Baroni, who was his boss, was informed every step of the way, and it was Baron's idea to have the lanes shut donw on the first day of school. Wildstein said he viewed Kelly's approval as an okay from the governor's office
"If that's how Miss Kelly wanted it, it was okay," he testified.
Wildstein said he did not keep Stepien informed, telling the jury that the campaign manager told him to work through Kelly and not to come to him with any Port Authority issues.
A lawyer for Stepien later on Monday said the former Christie aide had nothing to do with Bridgegate.
"Despite what Mr. Wildstein apparently feels compelled to say now, Mr. Stepien had no role in planning, approving or concealing his ill-advised scheme to close access lanes to the GWB," said attorney Kevin Marino. "To the contrary, as Mr. Wildstein has himself acknowledged, Mr. Stepien expressly advised him that Mr. Stepien was running a campaign; told him that he was not, and did not wish to be, involved in Port Authority business; and asked that Mr. Wildstein not involve him in such business."
He said Wildstein's "sad and self-serving accusations from the witness stand may help him avoid prison for his admitted crimes, but they will not help the jury or the public learn the truth."
Schuber, after learning of the testimony Monday, also denied he was ever told.
"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 under oath to the contrary, Schuber declined to comment.
"I'm not going to speculate," he said.
Wildstein's testimony continues Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton in Newark.
Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Facebook: @TedSherman.reporter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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