New Port Authority conflict issue emerges: NJ Transit got $1 lease while a client of David Samson's
law firm
http://www.northjersey.com/news/New_Port_Authority_conflict_issue_emerges_NJ_Transit_got_1_lease_while_a_client_of_David_Samsons_law_firm.html
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Port Authority Chairman David Samson, embroiled in controversies over whether clients of his law firm benefited from his public position, voted to give another client – NJ Transit – a $1-per-year lease on a valuable park-and-ride lot in North Bergen, records show.
At the time of the Feb. 9, 2012, vote, Samson’s firm, Wolff & Samson, was getting up to $1.5 million to advise NJ Transit on how to maximize profits from dozens of its commuter lots, including the one in North Bergen, according to public documents.
The 49-year lease for the commuter lot near Route 495 means the Port Authority will collect millions less in revenues — NJ Transit previously paid the authority $900,000 a year for use of the lot, which is used by hundreds of commuters each day.
Samson has become a central figure in the controversies arising out of the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal. News of his vote comes as the Port Authority’s board is poised to cast critical votes today on its long-term capital and operating budgets. A spokeswoman for Samson said he will recuse himself from both budgets, which set the basic agendas of the agency’s day-to-day operations as well as projects it wants to pursue over the next decade. Samson’s personal spokeswoman, who is not affiliated with the Port Authority, did not explain why he would not vote.
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