Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, according to the Huffington Post, is at the center of the controversy surrounding New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and lane closures on the George Washington Bridge Earlier this month. Emails have revealed that top Christie aides were directly involved in closing the lanes as a means of political retribution against Mayor Sokolich, who had refused to endorse Chris Christie in his reelection bid. Christie has denied knowledge of any such plot. The so-called “Bridge-gate” controversy is currently the subject of a federal investigation.
Mayor Mark Sokolich, has declined to cooperate with the lawyers hired by Gov. Chris Christie’s office to investigate the George Washington Bridge scandal.
According to MSNBC, The mayor of Fort Lee said, through this lawyer, that the request from attorney Randy Mastro to hand over any related documents and to sit down for a face to face meeting was inappropriate.
Chris Christie fired Bridget Anne Kelly, a deputy chief of staff. Documents show that Anne Kelly gave the go-ahead to shut down lanes to the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, creating four days of traffic gridlock, and also fired was Bill Stepien his campaign manager. Bill Baroni and David Wildstein, his two top men at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the bridge, resigned following sworn testimony by Foye and other Port Authority officials that the two men had violated protocols and had sought to hide their plans for the lane closings from Fort Lee and other officials.
Investigators are examining other possible motives for the controversy as to why the lanes were closed, such as whether the closures were intended to affect a major real estate development project, which was a top priority for Mayor Sokolich that was underway at the Fort Lee bridge access point.
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