I’m going to need some help from the Pond in connecting a couple of dots here. But first a review and the latest development.
The stumbling block for observers of the Ft. Lee lane closures to the GW Bridge has been why? We’re way past the point of knowing that it was political and a calculated and conspiratorial action. What was the point? Did it have any relationship to the major Ft Lee development projects? What made that speculation difficult is that both of those projects were by then essentially done deals. The other claim that it was payback to Ft. Lee Mayor Sokolich for not endorsing Christie’s re-election always seemed so thin or overkill that it almost failed a laugh test.
From there it wasn’t difficult for investigators in the NJ legislature and US Attorney’s office, journalists, and mere bloggers to consider any of the hinky Christie and NY-NJ Port Authority deals. Mostly far afield of the bridge toll lanes closure but shedding little penlights on the corruption in the Christie administration. That is outside my self-selected beat of the GW Bridge toll lane closures and therefore, no diaries from me on this in the past nine months. The news from a few days ago, Federal prosecutors subpoena Port Authority over claims Christie retaliated against Fulop, report says seemed to be more of that and not tied to the Ft. Lee/GW Bridge issue.
Brian Murphy at TPM suggests that maybe it is: Neverending Story: Feds’ Bridgegate Probe Takes New Turn.
Those who studied some of the Wildstein, Baroni, and Bridget Kelly emails that were released over some period of time noted that the plan (plot) to close the Ft. Lee toll lanes appeared to have been constructed by early August but it only became operational over a month later. In those communications there was no hint of what prompted the plan and what they hoped to accomplish.
In going back over this data more carefully, Murphy has identified possibly two smoking guns and some interesting timing “coincidences.”
The first possible “smoking gun.”
Monday morning 9/9/13, Mayor Sokolich called and left a message for Baroni reporting the urgent matter of public safety in Ft. Lee. Baroni forwarded this to Wildstein at 9:41 AM. Wildstein forwarded it to Bridget Kelly. Kelly asked if Baroni returned Sokolich’s call. At 10:13 AM, Wildstein wrote, “Radio silence” and “His name comes right after mayor Fulop.”
Why would Wildstein have had Fulop on his mind the day the GW Bridge toll lanes were closed?
Second one. Day two, 9/10/13, of the toll lane closures.
Mayor Sokolich texts Baroni at 8:04 AM
Presently we have four very busy traffic lanes merging into one toll booth … The bigger problem is getting the kids to school. Please help. It’s maddening.
Text received by Baroni at 8:05 AM. Forwarded to Wildstein at 9:41 AM.
At 8:05 AM, Kelly wrote, Is it wrong that I’m smiling. No from Wildstein.
At 8:05-06, Kelly wrote, I feel badly for the kids. I guess
At 8:11 AM, Wildstein wrote, They are the children of Buono voters.
Why would Kelly and Wildstein have been chatting about a text message from Sokolich to Baroni almost two hours before Boroni forwarded it to Wildstein? As if Sokolich had texted Kelly and Wildstein and the two of them were instantly on it? As if they had been monitoring Sokolich’s communications before he sent that text.
Nothing about the team Christie and Mayor Sokolich relationship fitted with planning the bridge toll lane closures in late July – early August. Murphy documents how the timing fits perfectly with the team Christie and Mayor Fulop relationship. Including this:
In August 2013, Fulop wrote [to Bill Baroni], “I am not sure if it is a coincidence that your office cancelled a meeting several weeks back that seemed to be simultaneous to other political conversations elsewhere that were happening…. I sincerely hope the two issues are not related as it wouldn’t be in the PA, Jersey City, or the residents of the state’s best interest.”
Any New Jersey denizens or Mafia aficionados here that can supply the correct word or term for what this looks like? Whacking a not so important, minor irritant to send a message to more important rival?
Suddenly, this seems less coincidental
One night before local access lanes to New Jersey’s George Washington Bridge were closed last fall in an apparent act of political retribution that sparked miles-long traffic jams for four straight days, an air quality monitor run by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection in Trenton abruptly ceased collecting data.
The closest state-run monitor to the bridge with its data posted online, the monitor started measuring air pollution again more than two days later – just as a key pollution indicator was starting to decline.
“They’re missing data for 2 1/2 days – that’s weird,” says Ann Marie Carlton, an assistant professor at Rutgers University who studies air quality.
More reasons why the plan was to keep those toll lanes closed for an extended period of time? The part of the plot that was foiled by Pat Foye.
