New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who raised eyebrows on Sunday palling around with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on an all-expenses-paid football junket, is under fire for
what some reports suggest could be an ethically questionable relationship with the billionaire sports mogul.
A hospitality company co-owned by Jones has a lucrative contract from a joint New Jersey-New York agency, the Port Authority, to manage the observation deck atop the new 1 World Trade Center tower when it opens this year,
the Wall Street Journal reports.
The Port Authority is controlled jointly by Christie and by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
As the operator of regional bridges and tunnels, as well as buildings including 1 WTC, the Port Authority is widely viewed as a source of patronage jobs and political influence for both governors — who last week
vetoed a reform bill overhauling the agency.
Jones is a stakeholder in Legends Hospitality, a company that won Port Authority bidding to run the observatory franchise under terms that were not disclosed to the public, the Journal reports.
Jones also hosted Christie on Sunday, paying for the governor's private jet to Texas and his luxury suite at Sunday's playoff game at AT&T Stadium in suburban Dallas, according to
a report at NJ.com.
Christie defended the gift-giving from Jones as allowable under New Jersey law.
A Port Authority spokeswoman told the Journal that Legends Hospitality won the contract in a competitive bidding process and that the observation deck could generate $875 million in revenue over 15 years.
A Legends board member told the Journal that it was "silly" to imply a quid-pro-quo between Jones and Christie.
Nevertheless, "Mr. Christie’s acceptance of a gift from a business owner with ties to the Port Authority comes amid calls for reform at an agency rocked by the George Washington Bridge scandal and other problems in the past year," the Journal reports.
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