In a previous episode of "Why Bruce Was Right About Chris Christie,"
Port Authority police union chief Paul Nunziato announced he was taking a leave of absence from his "day to day" duties. He is on record as saying that it was he who approached PA exec David Wildsten with the question of whether Fort Lee had too many access lanes:
Quote:
Bill Baroni, Mr. Wildstein’s superior at the Port Authority and another Christie ally, offered testimony to the legislative committee in November that indicated that Mr. Nunziato suggested to Mr. Wildstein in July that he close two bridge access lanes as part of a traffic study...
Mr. Nunziato never disputed that characterization...Even before Mr. Baroni’s testimony, Mr. Nunziato openly mocked those who had contended that the lane closings were politically motivated...suggest(ting) that such a view was akin to conspiracy theories about where Jimmy Hoffa might be buried...
In a statement released after Mr. Baroni’s testimony on Nov. 25, Mr. Nunziato endorsed the lane closing, saying that “the Port Authority’s attempt to be fair to all New Jersey commuters rather than a select few was admirable.” Mr. Nunziato was apparently referring to Mr. Baroni’s testimony that the traffic study was an attempt to determine whether Fort Lee’s three access lanes to the bridge amounted to special treatment...
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And what has Mr. Nunziato has been doing in his spare time? Being interviewed by the Feds and lawyering up (but not particularly well):
Quote:
In recent days, Mr. Nunziato’s lawyer has sought to clarify his client’s statements.
“Paul Nunziato had nothing to do with nor knowledge of the planning, implementation or execution” of the closing of the access lanes, the lawyer, Charles J. Sciarra, said in a statement...Mr. Nunziato...first learned “that there was an obvious improper motive regarding this issue” when the committee released documents suggesting the action may have been politically motivated...
Mr. Sciarra said Mr. Nunziato’s comments grew out of loyalty to his political allies and that he believed that the lane closings stemmed from the dispute between the Port Authority’s New York and New Jersey factions.
“My client was trying to be supportive of people who were supportive of his union; he never intended to mislead,” Mr. Sciarra said in a brief interview. And because of Mr. Nunziato’s own “increasingly acrimonious” relationship with Mr. Foye, he “became a vocal supporter of Mr. Wildstein in the dispute: believing this to be a botched traffic study, Mr. Nunziato made colorful and supportive statements to the press.”
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He didn't INTEND to mislead? Actually, there's a proper legal term for what Mr. Nunziato did, and it isn't "not intending to mislead" -- it's:
LYING!!!