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herding cats's JournalChristie bridge scandal: Lawyers may have conflict of interest, Port Authority says
Source: The Record (NorthJersey.com)
The Port Authority is raising concerns that the law firm chosen to represent the Christie administration amid several investigations into the George Washington Bridge scandal has a conflict of interest.
Officials at the bi-state agency plan to send a letter to the firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP expressing the concerns, which stem from the firm's work on a separate but potentially related case, said a knowledgeable source.
The firm is representing the Port Authority in a lawsuit lodged by the motorist group AAA over the agency's controversial toll hikes in 2011. Christie jointly steers the Port Authority.
The interests of the Port Authority and the Christie administration in both the toll hike lawsuit and the George Washington Bridge probes could diverge, presenting potential complications if the same law firm is representing both simultaneously, some within the Port Authority believe.
Read more: http://www.northjersey.com/news/state/Port_Authority_Lawyers_for_Christie_admin_in_GWB_scandal_have_conflict_of_interest.html?page=all
Have you ever purchased online from Target, or signed up for their loyalty program?
I'm spreading this PSA around after being notified today. If for any reason Target has ever obtained your name, phone number, address or email you're now one of the people involved in the second wave of their security breach. When I say ever, I mean ever in the history of the store. That's what they told me when I called. They don't know how far back this could go. I made an online purchase more than a year ago which gave them my information and led to the email today notifying me I was involved in the breach. They're offering a year of free credit monitoring via Experian's ProtectMyID for all those whose data was taken. Which is nice, I guess.
I'm honestly not sure what all a person can do with your name, address, phone number and email, but they must have some uses in mind since they've went to all the trouble to steal them. My best guess would be phishing scams. So, if you fall into this group, even if you have not yet gotten the email, be extra careful going through your emails and go the extra mile to verify everything.
Some information on what exactly what phishing scams are.
Chris Christie hires Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher to review administration's role in 'Bridgegate'
The administration this morning announced the hiring of the Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher law firm and specifically Randy Mastro to assist both with the review and an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s office into the closings, which snarled traffic for four days in Fort Lee.
Mastro, a former assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, specialized in organized crime and racketeering cases.
http://www.app.com/article/20140116/NJNEWS1002/301160030/Chris-Christie-hires-law-firm-to-review-administration-s-role-in-Bridgegate-?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Frontpage|s
He's hired some famous "fixers", Ken Starr and Ted Olson are some of their heavy hitters.
I knew of the firm before this but wasn't familiar with who Mastro was. He appears to be a heavy hitter in the "fixer" world.
From Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's website.
Mr. Mastro has represented such clients as Amazon.com, Bank of New York Mellon, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield/Well Point, Daimler, Chevron, Wynn, JPMorgan, GE Capital, Estee Lauder, Park Place/Caesar’s/Harrah’s, Madison Square Garden, Cablevision, Dow Jones, Verizon, Home Depot, Quest Diagnostics, IAC/Home Shopping Network, Bear Stearns, Empire Merchants, Edison Schools, Edison Properties, Forest City Ratner, Georgetown, Peter Kalikow, Saks, Ziff Davis, UBS Financial Services, Hewlett Packard, Prudential Securities, Lehman Brothers, Xerox, Octagon, Martina Hingis, Anna Kournikova, and Steffi Graf.
Before returning to Gibson Dunn in 1998, Mr. Mastro served as Mayor Rudolph Giuliani’s Chief of Staff and then as New York City’s Deputy Mayor for Operations. In that capacity, he was responsible for overseeing all of the City’s operating agencies and budget, and served as the Mayor’s chief liaison with elected officials. In the Mayor’s absence, he was authorized to act on the Mayor’s behalf. During his years in the Giuliani administration from 1994 to 1998, Mr. Mastro spearheaded the City’s initiatives to remove organized crime from the Fulton Fish Market, the private carting industry, and the San Gennaro Festival. He also oversaw the successful turnaround of New York City’s Off-Track Betting Corporation. For two consecutive years, NY1-TV named Mr. Mastro one of City government’s “Winners of the Year,” and Manhattan File magazine featured him as one of the “45 Most Powerful New Yorkers 45 and Under.”
http://www.gibsondunn.com/lawyers/rmastro
Lesniak, Buono call for federal investigation into GWB lane closures
State Sen. Ray Lesniak, D-Union, said there is “reasonable suspicion that there were serious violations of criminal law here, using governmental authority to injure the public for political purposes.”
State law enforcement shouldn’t be investigating because of the possibility of interference by the administration, he said in an interview.
In a post on Facebook this morning, Lesniak called for a “federal grand jury.”
“This smells of corrupt use of government authority at the highest levels,” he wrote.
- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/Lesniak_Buono_call_for_federal_investigation_into_GWB_lane_closures.html#sthash.MCGFVseG.dpuf
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