No mystery about Bridgegate: Christie lied from start to finish, paving way for Trump

This Reuters photo of Governor Christie ran with a December 2015 report on Donald J. Trump's comments about the Bridgegate scandal. On the presidential campaign trail, Trump accused fellow GOP candidate Christie of being complicit in the 2013 lane closings on the George Washington Bridge.

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

There is no "lingering mystery of Bridgegate," as a headline on The Record's Opinion front asserts today.

In the court of public opinion, Governor Christie is guilty of lying about his knowledge of the George Washington Bridge lane closings, and his mouthpiece continues to lie about it.

On Wednesday, when two of Christie's former senior aides were sentenced to prison in the political revenge plot, spokesman Brian Murray took exception to comments from the judge.

Murray described the culture of the Governor's Office as "honest, honorable, bipartisan and effective," Star-Ledger opinion Columnist Tom Moran wrote on Friday.

"The judge in the case, Susan Wigenton, apparently touched a nerve by describing the attitude of his administration as, 'You are either with us or against us.'"

And brace for retaliation, if you were against the administration.

'Exposed as a liar'

Moran notes "Murray's most gutsy claim is that this administration has been honest."

"If you remember one thing from the trial, make it this," Moran wrote:

"Christie was exposed as a liar on his core claim in the case. 

"In his mea culpa press conference on Jan. 9, 2014, he said he was 'blindsided' by his staff and only learned this was an act of political revenge a day earlier, with the release of [his deputy chief of staff's] infamous email, 'Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.'

"Five witnesses testified under oath that they had spoken with him about it weeks or months earlier," Moran went on. "Three of them were his close allies, forced to reveal this by hostile questioning under oath.

"A box of kittens? Not quite. More like a nest of vipers," Moran concluded.

Trump on Christie

Right after the Paris terror attacks in November 2015, Christie announced that all Syrian refugees, even children, should be barred from New Jersey and the nation.

Still, less than a month later, the GOP thug labeled as unconstitutional fellow presidential candidate Donald J. Trump's proposal to bar all Muslim immigrants and visitors from entering the United States.

Trump fired back, accusing Christie of being complicit in the Bridgegate plot, Business Insider reported on Dec. 7, 2015.

"The George Washington Bridge, he knew about it .... Totally knew about it," Trump said at a campaign rally in South Carolina.

"They're closing up the largest bridge in the world [and] they never said, 'Hey, boss, we're closing up the George Washington Bridge tonight.'"

'Reform Agenda'

It's likely Christie lied about why he killed the Hudson River rail tunnels in October 2010, one of his first major acts in office.

He cited huge cost overruns that could put New Jersey on the ropes, but secretly laid plans to use leftover tunnel funds for road and bridge repairs to avoid the politically unpopular gas-tax hike.

Many of his initiatives, such as "Reform Agenda" and "Stronger Than the Storm," were only public relations and accomplished little.

In fact, Christie's record of lies, exaggerations and half-truths laid the groundwork for the Trump administration using falsehoods to smear opponents, denounce the media's "fake news" and lie about everything else.

More changes

With the layoff of award-winning Travel Editor Jill Schensul, her section is changing.

Today, only half of Page 2T in Travel carries photos of readers who take the section on their vacations, as opposed to a full page under Schensul.

And that smiling family on the Real Estate cover lives in Minnesota, not New Jersey.

On the Better Living cover today, The Record inexplicably calls the Hudson Valley's craft-beer breweries "the new Sonoma," an apparent reference to one of the most famous wine-grape growing regions in the United States.

As Christie cozies up to Trump, ex-allies won't be going to prison anytime soon

A 2014 cartoon from the New York Daily News goes to the crux of the Bridgegate scandal: Allies of Governor Christie executed a plan to close access lanes on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge to retaliate against Fort Lee's Democratic mayor, who didn't endorse his November 2013 re-election bid, and in the process violated the civil rights of drivers and others caught in five mornings of gridlock.

Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie's former deputy chief of staff, above, and co-defendant Bill Baroni were found guilty by a federal jury last Nov. 4 (photo by Mel Evans of the Associated Press)

HACKENSACK MAYOR

CLASHES WITH ZISA ALLIES

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Despite the big black headline on the front page of The Record along with three news or opinion pieces today, the story of the Bridgegate scandal is far from over.

It definitely isn't "prison time" -- as the main headline claims -- for Bill Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly, the former allies of Governor Christie who will appeal their convictions and sentences in the September 2013 George Washington Bridge lane closures (1A).

That process can take up to two years, extending their freedom from 24-month and 18-month federal prison terms, respectively.

And David Wildstein, Christie's onetime Port Authority crony and the government's star witness, still faces sentencing on his 2015 guilty plea to conspiracy.

New probe?

Meanwhile, Assemblyman John Wisniewski called President Trump's announcement that Christie will head a new commission on opioid addiction an attempt to distract from Wednesday's sentencings of Baroni and Kelly.

Wisniewski also appealed to the Democratic majority in the state Legislature to re-open the state level investigation into Bridgegate.

Christie was never charged despite testimony from Wildstein, Baroni and Kelly the GOP thug knew about the lane closings as they were happening in September 2013.

"I will not allow myself to be the scapegoat," Kelly, 44, said after she was sentenced in Newark federal court on conspiracy, wire fraud and civil rights violations.

Baroni, 45, the former Port Authority executive who was found guilty on the same charges, said he was "wrong and I am truly sorry," but noted "a number of people outside of this courtroom were involved in Fort Lee that day -- some charged, some not."

Three days in row

Today's coverage is the third day in a row the Baroni and Kelly sentencing hearing appeared on Page 1.

Monday's news story reported federal prosecutors were asking for a 3-year prison term for each, and that both were asking for leniency.

On Tuesday, Columnist Charles Stile basically duplicated Monday's news story, and focused on the "first-time offenders" hoping for leniency.

Today, Stile's Page 1 column claims Christie "launched his latest political rehabilitation Wednesday as the compassionate and caring crusader, vowing to stomp out the opioid drug epidemic [italics added]" (1A).

This despite The Record reporting for months that Christie has vowed to end the epidemic, and just last month signed into law a bill mandating insurance coverage to give addicts immediate access to treatment (6A).

Meanwhile, Columnist Mike Kelly tries to calculate to the penny the "cost" of Bridgegate (10A), reportng incorrectly that the plan "to re-arrange the traffic cones" near the bridge "ended on Wednesday" in U.S. District Court in Newark.

Local news?

Hackensack residents aren't as interested in the Bergen County executive's $522 million spending plan as they are in the growing value of tax-exempt county property in the city (1L).

Unfortunately, Staff Writer Steve Janoski and his predecessors have never explored how that tax-exempt property -- including the newly opened Justice Center on Court Street -- unfairly shifts the property tax burden onto city residents.

Nor has The Record reported on what, if anything, the county has returned to the city to compensate for that growing tax burden. 

Hackensack news

Hackensack Mayor John Labrosse and Board of Education Attorney Richard Salkin clashed over a teacher "who appears to have distributed campaign material on school time, which is a potential violation of school policy," Staff Writer Rodrigo Torrejon reports (3L). 

A photo of an angry, finger-pointing Salkin runs with the story on Tuesday's school board meeting.

Salkin has good reason to be angry with Labrosse, who headed a slate of City Council reformers elected in May 2013 over five candidates backed by the Zisa family political dynasty.

After the reformers were elected, they stripped Salkin, a Zisa ally, of his second job -- municipal prosecutor.

Salkin has never forgiven them, and he has appeared regularly at City Council meetings to criticize, scold and berate them.

Now, a new slate backed by the Zisas opposes the May 9 re-election bid of the mayor, three other incumbents and a fifth candidate, all of whom are running as the Labrosse Team for Lower Taxes and Honest Government.

Both Salkin and school board President Jason Nunnermacker are lawyers for the Zisa-backed slate, Hackensack United for Progress.

Jack and Ken Zisa kick off their campaign to defeat Hackensack Council reformers

Former Hackensack Police Chief and state Assemblyman Ken Zisa and former City Attorney Joseph Zisa, back to camera, greeted supporters on Thursday night at a campaign kickoff for a slate of candidates who will challenge City Council incumbents in the May election. Ken Zisa handed out bottles of water.

Former four-term Hackensack Mayor Jack Zisa, standing at right rear, also worked the room at Mount Olive Baptist Church. The heavyset man in the foreground is Board of Education President Jason Nunnermacker, a Zisa ally who was defeated in the bitter 2013 council election.

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Zisa Puppet Company is hoping for a comeback.

On Tuesday night, the family political machine that dominated Hackensack for decades introduced their slate of City Council candidates in the non-partisan May election.

Some would call them puppets, but no strings were visible as the head of the slate, school board Vice President Lara Rodriguez, walked onto the stage at Mount Olive Baptist Church to address supporters.

Another member of the slate, Rommy Buttafuocco, was identified in a campaign brochure as a 16-year employee of the Board of Education, which Zisa allies controlled even after their council candidates were defeated in 2013.

Hackensack taxpayers should be concerned about the candidacy of Rodriguez and Buttafuocco, because the school board budget soared over $100 million in the past two years, surpassing the city's own budget.

More than 44% of each resident's property taxes go to support the schools.

In last April's school election, the Zisas backed three candidates under the "Team Hackensack" banner, and all three were either elected or appointed to the board.

The Record of Woodland Park didn't cover the election -- which included six opposing candidates -- or report that the family that stuck Hackensack with the moniker "Zisaville" were attempting a political comeback.

Now, the Zisas' five council candidates are running under a different banner, "Hackensack United for Progress."

In addition to Rodriguez and Buttafuocco, candidates are businessman Jason Some, former cop Michael Williams and former legislative aide Carlos Merino.

See The Zisas and the Borgs, a post I wrote in 2010, based on recollections of a self-described Hackenack old timer.

Lynne Hurwitz, a Zisa ally who heads the city's Democratic Party machine, also was at the kickoff.

Board of Education Attorney and Zisa ally Richard Salkin lost a second job as municipal prosecutor after the City Council headed by Mayor John P. Labrosse took office in 2013.

Lara Rodriguez, the head of the ticket, addressing supporters.

Today's Record

Today's front page is dominated by the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions from the Russia probe, suggesting that lying is a way of life in the Trump administration (1A).

The court of public opinion convicted Governor Christie in the Bridgegate scandal, and as a result, his White House dream fizzled and he was denied a top position by President Trump. 

But it doesn't look like he will ever face a judge or jury for inspiring the lane closures on the George Washington Bridge that caused five mornings of gridlock in September 2013 (1A).

Meanwhile, a federal judge denied motions by lawyers for two of his former aides, Bill Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly, who were convicted in the political conspiracy, and they will be sentenced on March 15 (4A).

Jersey foods

The Garden State has a well-earned reputation for great beefsteak tomatoes, blueberries, corn and other produce, as well as incredible seafood -- from lobsters to clams to monkfish.

But they're not good enough for Food Editor Esther Davidowitz, who would rather promote unhealthy Taylor ham, fries, hot dogs and mystery ground beef as the state's "iconic foods" (1BL, 10BL and 11BL).

Davidowitz and food writer Sophia F. Gottfried continue to scramble in an effort to distract readers from Gannett's decision to end the weekly restaurant review in November.

The Record: A letter contains sticker shock about my 7-day home delivery subsciption

A cartoon from Pat Bagley of the Salt Lake Tribune compares President Trump to a docile breed entered in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show by shirtless Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Until I received a letter from The Record, I wasn't aware I am paying more than $100 a year for 7-day home delivery of the once-great daily newspaper I worked for until 2008.

That's $104 or 28 cents an issue, said a woman who took my call this morning after I was put on hold for more than 15 minutes and listened to music from the Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra.

After June 4, my home delivery subscription will go up only 40 cents, to $104.40 (charged to my credit card at $8.70 a month), she said.

And there is no charge for access to NorthJersey.com, which is even more poorly edited than the print edition, if you can imagine that.

That's double the $51.48 a year I paid in 2010, when I still received a discount for being a former employee.

But the woman hastened to add the "regular rate" for 7-day home delivery is $457.60.

Why didn't I know how much I paid for the Woodland Park daily?

My account is enrolled in auto pay, and renews automatically.

The letter also informed me I "will receive 4 premium editions throughout the year, which will be charged at $1 each."

Idle boasts

While I was on hold, a recorded message played over and over again, touting The Record's "restaurant reviews," which ended last November with the departure of critic Elisa Ung.

Today's Better Living section contains not a restaurant review, but a story on "North Jersey's Best Chicken Sandwiches" (1BL, 10BL and 11BL).

If you don't eat poultry or meat, screw you, Food Editor Esther Davidowitz seems to be saying.

The message also boasted of "the best local news coverage anywhere" -- a patently ridiculous statement even when the Borg family owned the paper.

Today's paper

President Trump continues his assault on the news media and "fake news" after former Gen. Michael Flynn resigned as national security adviser (1A).

A long Page 1 story on the suspensions of the high school principal and nine other high-level district employees in Englewood never explains what is wrong with "more than 3,000 graduation credit and grade changes in the previous year" (1A).

Paul Berger, a transportation reporter who covers the Port Authority, continues to spend more time reporting on the woes of unarmed guards at the George Washington Bridge than he does on the commuters who are caught in horrendous traffic jams at the bridge and other Hudson River crossings (1A).

He also has ignored reporting on a quick fix for a lack of rush-hour seats on NJ Transit buses and afternoon delays at the midtown-Manhattan bus terminal:

More exclusive Lincoln Tunnel bus lanes (both in the morning and afternoon) on Route 495.

About one-third of the first Business page in the L-section was missing when we found our copy of The Record, which was tossed far from the familiar spot in our driveway today. The missing third of the page ended up in the A-section, next to the editorials.

Local news 

Governor Christie's White House dreams were dashed by the Bridgegate scandal, and now a Bergen County judge has cleared the way for an official misconduct complaint against him to proceed to trial (1L).

The GOP thug has tried to put Bridgegate behind him by launching a number of initiatives to address "the epidemic of addition" to prescription drugs (Thursday's front page).

Also on the Local front, Staff Writer John Cichowski continues to base his so-called commuting column on a small number of wackos who email him incessantly so they can see their names in print (1L).

Today's Road Warrior column celebrates Neanderthal drivers who disable such collision-avoidance systems as backup cameras, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring and lane-departure warnings.