Former Port Authority chair David Samson to retire

David Samson, who chaired the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey when the agency became embroiled in the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal, is retiring from the law firm he founded.

Samson resigned from the Port Authority board in March 2014 as Gov. Christie, a possible Republican presidential contender, sought to move past the controversy.

But Samson remained a presence at Wolff & Samson, the West Orange, N.J., firm he cofounded in 1972.

The firm announced Tuesday that it was undergoing a leadership transition and would take the name Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi P.C.

Samson, 75, will retire this month, the firm said. He had been planning to do for some time, it said.

"I've been proud and fortunate to be associated with the firm for more than 43 years," Samson said in a statement. "It has been a personal and professional privilege, and I shall miss the relationships of my colleagues, friends, and extended legal family."

Jeffrey S. Chiesa, a former state attorney general under Christie who was later appointed U.S. senator for a brief period, was named to the firm's executive committee. He has been a partner since 2013.

Federal prosecutors are investigating the September 2013 lane closures, which caused massive traffic jams and were carried out by two former Christie allies, including a top Port Authority official, according to reports commissioned by the governor and the Legislature.

Samson also has come under scrutiny for alleged conflicts of interest between his work at the Port Authority and business with Wolff & Samson.

The state Ethics Commission began investigating those allegations last year and served a subpoena on the law firm in October, according to a lawsuit Samson filed seeking to block the probe. He ultimately dropped the suit.

The Bergen Record has reported that prosecutors also are investigating Samson's relationship with United Airlines, which during his tenure at the Port Authority started a new route between Newark Liberty International Airport and Columbia (S.C.) Metropolitan Airport. The bistate agency operates the region's bridges and airports, including Newark.

Samson took the flight twice a week to visit his wife, who lived near the South Carolina airport, the newspaper reported. United scrapped the nonstop route days after Samson resigned from the Port Authority, according to the newspaper.

Samson served as attorney general under Democratic Gov. Jim McGreevey and chaired Christie's gubernatorial transition team in 2009.