HOBOKEN — The New York Times confirmed in a story on Saturday that the U.S. Attorney’s office issued three “clearance letters” saying they had closed an investigation into three state officials accused by Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer of having tied Hurricane Sandy aid to the progress of a private development in Hoboken.
In 2014, Zimmer said that the state’s attorney general and two other officials had implied to her that the city’s receiving more Hurricane Sandy aid might be linked to her ability to shepherd a proposed residential/commercial development at the city’s northern border. The development was proposed by the Rockefeller Group of New York, a company whose consultant was a close associate of Gov. Christopher Christie, attorney David Samson. There were concerns that officials were tying public funds to the success of a project meant to make a profit for private entities.
Zimmer said at the time that she had told several colleagues about the officials’ words to her soon afterward, and also presented diary entries saying Christie was “cut from the same corrupt cloth” as those whose misdeeds she had tried to clean up in Hoboken.
The federal government investigated Zimmer’s claims but did not bring charges as they did in another Christie scandal.
It is rare for federal investigators to issue “clearance letters” for anyone, as they often refuse to comment on whether a case is still open. However, sometimes officials request the letters if they believe their personal or political reputation will suffer from the ongoing questions.
So did Zimmer misunderstand what was said, or did the government just not have the proof they needed? Zimmer and the officials obviously had different takes on the result. Read more in the New York Times story.
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