Christie's transportation commissioner quits

New Jersey Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox is resigning from the Christie administration as federal prosecutors investigate the relationship between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and United Airlines, which Fox once served as a lobbyist.

Gov. Christie, a Republican presidential candidate, appointed Fox to the post a year ago in a move that was widely praised by Democrats who wanted to replenish the state's nearly depleted fund for road, bridge, and rail projects.

Rather than seeking a long-term fix, Christie cobbled together enough money for one more fiscal year before the state would have to raise revenue.

"I returned to government understanding it would entail a personal sacrifice and that it would not be a lengthy stay," Fox, who served as a top aide to former Gov. Jim McGreevey, said in a statement late Friday. "I had hoped that we could secure a credible long-term solution for the Transportation Trust Fund within a year. I deeply regret we were unable to do so, and with a year behind me, it is time for me to return to the private sector and pursue new opportunities."

Asked at a news conference earlier Friday whether Fox was still in good standing with the administration, Christie said there was "no reason why he wouldn't be."

In a statement late Friday, Christie said deputy transportation commissioner Joseph Bertoni would take over as acting commissioner when Fox leaves by the end of the month.

Before joining the Christie administration, Fox ran a successful lobbying firm that reported $701,500 in receipts in 2014. Among his clients was United Airlines, now under federal investigation regarding its relationship with the Port Authority.

In 2011 and 2012, United was negotiating terms of its lease and other issues with the Port Authority, which operates Newark Airport. At the same time, according to news reports, the agency's chairman, David Samson, pushed for United to initiate a route from Newark to Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina, near his vacation home. Samson's lawyer has described the reports as inaccurate.

United operated the money-losing flight from September 2012 to March 2014, just days after Samson resigned amid the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal.

The office of U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman has issued subpoenas to the Port Authority seeking records about that flight, United's lease of a terminal at Newark Airport, and communications between United executives and lobbyists, according to agency financial disclosures.

United's CEO and two other top executives were ousted last month.

Prosecutors also have issued subpoenas for records related to United's flights to or from Atlantic City International Airport. United began routes at the airport to Houston and Chicago in April 2014 but ended them in November of that year.

By the time United ended the routes, Fox was transportation commissioner and therefore chairman of the South Jersey Transportation Authority, which manages the Atlantic City Airport.

During Fox's first meeting there - and just months after he ended his work as a lobbyist - the agency decided not to try to recoup $104,000 in fees it spent marketing United's routes as part of an incentives package, even though the agreement stipulated that United would have to operate the flights for at least a year to get the incentives.

A spokesman for Fox said the commissioner "did not take part in any conversation about United" and did not violate state ethics rules.

Rather, the agency's vice chairman raised the issue, which wasn't on the meeting's agenda, spokesman Stephen Schapiro said. "The consensus in the room" was in agreement with the decision not to recoup the fees, said Schapiro. No votes were taken, he said.

He added that United paid nearly $116,000 in other fees during its operation at Atlantic City; the money has not been refunded to the airline.

Schapiro also noted that other airlines have actually received better incentives than United. Delta, for example, received $4.5 million between 2009 and 2012, he said.

aseidman@phillynews.com

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@AndrewSeidman