Sentencing Set For Christie Ally Guilty In United Airlines Flight Scheme
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A sentencing date has been set for a former mentor to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
David Samson will be sentenced in Newark on Dec. 13.
The former chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey pleaded guilty to a bribery charge last month.
He admitted scheming with a lobbyist to delay approvals on a project at Newark Liberty Airport as a way of pressuring the airline to re-launch a money-losing weekend flight to South Carolina, near where Samson had a second home.
The company entered into a "non-prosecution agreement" and will pay a $2.25 million fine for the role its officials played in the scheme.
Under the agreement, United accepted responsibility for certain conduct related to the establishment of the flight between Newark and Columbia. Also, United agreed to continue to enhance its compliance, anti-bribery and anti-corruption program policies and procedures as appropriate and to make annual reports of its compliance efforts. United is committed to full compliance with this agreement.
Samson was Port Authority chairman during the 2013 George Washington Bridge lane-closing scandal that led to criminal charges against three other Christie allies, including the governor's deputy chief of staff.
Christie appointed Samson, a former state attorney general, to the Port Authority chairman's post in 2011 after he led the governor's transition team in 2009.
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