FORT LEE, N.J. _ The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has refused to reimburse Fort Lee for $334,000 in legal expenses it incurred as a result of the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal.
In a letter sent Tuesday to Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, the agency's general counsel, Michael Farbiarz, rejected Sokolich's demand for financial "justice" for the borough's taxpayers and said there was no legal basis for such a claim.
"If Fort Lee is to seek compensation, it should look to those convicted of committing the crimes in question _ not the Port Authority," Farbiarz wrote, arguing that the two former Port Authority officials found guilty of helping engineer the closures, Bill Baroni and David Wildstein, acted outside their authority at the agency.
The Port Authority itself "vehemently disclaimed those actions in real time," he wrote, noting that the agency's executive director, Patrick Foye, acted "quickly and decisively" to re-open the local access lanes to the bridge after they had been closed for five mornings in September 2013. The lanes were closed under the pretense of a traffic study, but federal prosecutors said local access to the bridge was restricted to create gridlock as punishment for Sokolich's refusal to endorse Gov. Chris Christie's 2013 re-election bid.
Sokolich said Wednesday that he was "disappointed" with the Port Authority's decision and that the borough and its attorneys are contemplating how to proceed.
"In light of what we all now know, it is absolutely unfair for my taxpayers to bear this burden," he said.
