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Jamie Fox, a former state cabinet official and longtime power player in New Jersey politics, has been charged in connection with the federal government's long-running investigation into the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman announced the criminal complaint against Fox at a press conference Thursday about an hour after the Port Authority's former chairman, David Samson, pleaded guilty to a bribery count for his role in securing a special United Airlines flight between Newark Liberty International Airport and Columbia, S.C., not far from his vacation home.
David Samson arrives at the federal courthouse in Newark Thursday ahead of his guilty plea.(Robert Sciarrino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Fox, a former Port Authority official who later became a lobbyist for the airline, is charged with conspiracy to commit bribery for allegedly using his influence to help arrange the flight, which shaved hours off Samson's commute.
If convicted, Fox faces up to five years in prison and a fine up to $250,000.
Fox has previously denied using his influence to secure the flight, which was canceled shortly after Samson stepped down from the Port Authority in March 2014.
An internal investigation by United led to the ouster of the airline's chief executive, Jeff Smisek, and two other executives in September 2015.
On Thursday, Fishman said United will pay a $2.25 million penalty for its role in the special flight, known to insiders as the "chairman's flight." The airline also agreed to institute "substantial reforms to its compliance program," Fishman said.
In a statement, Fox's lawyer, Michael Critchley, called his client an honorable public servant who believed the arrangement between United and Samson was "fully vetted and completely appropriate."
"Anyone who knows Jamie knows that he would never jeopardize his reputation by engaging in the behavior alleged in the indictment," Critchley said. "Jamie is not a lawyer. ... Jamie unfortunately has found himself caught in the middle of an arrangement that he believed was reviewed and approved by the necessary business and legal professionals."
Charges filed in the wake of the Bridgegate criminal investigation into abuses by political appointees at the Port Authority, then headed by Samson.
Critchley added that Fox, who is suffering from "multiple, serious" illnesses, "will not allow this unfair stain to be the last word on his distinguished career."
The U.S. Attorney called the behavior by both Samson and Fox "honestly so sad."
"They both should have known better," Fishman said. "They both did know better."
He added that when public officials misuse their offices, it shakes trust in government.
"It's a betrayal of our trust," he said. "It breathes more life into the cynical view that all people in government are corrupt."
The federal probe into the United route was an outgrowth of the investigation into the politically motivated lane closures on the George Washington Bridge.
Christie's former deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, and his ally at the Port Authority, former Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni, are charged with orchestrating the lane closures in September 2013 as payback to the mayor of Fort Lee for declining to endorse the governor in his re-election effort.
Another former Christie ally, David Wildstein, has already pleaded guilty in the case. Kelly and Baroni are expected to stand trial in September.
The closures caused gridlock for hours in Fort Lee, delaying ambulances on emergency calls and buses ferrying kids to school.
U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton denied motions to dismiss the case.
By filing charges against Fox, the federal government is pursuing another figure with an outsize imprint on New Jersey politics, particularly among Democrats.
Once a staffer in the administration of former Gov. Jim Florio, Fox later served as chief of staff to former U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli and former Gov. James E. McGreevey.
When McGreevey resigned in disgrace in 2004, Fox jumped to the Port Authority, where he held the position of deputy executive director, a position of significant authority at the bistate agency, which controls billions of dollars.
Fox left in 2007 to work a private consultant, briefly suspending that role while he served as a senior adviser to the Obama campaign. He then returned to his consulting firm, which counted among its clients United Airlines.
Fox is also a two-time commissioner of the state Department of Transportation, first from 2002 to 2003 and then from September 2014 to October 2015. He announced his resignation as commissioner amid increasing scrutiny about his role in the "chairman's flight."
Two former state officials accused him of violating ethics laws by failing to recuse himself from talks at a private meeting between Port Authority officials and United executives. Fox denied any ethical lapse.
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