Two members of the South Jersey Transportation Authority were charged Friday in connection with an alleged political retribution scheme involving payments withheld from an engineering firm whose executive defied an unnamed Democratic Party leader.
According to the complaints in the case, the vice chairman of the SJTA Board, Christopher Milam, 45, of Sewell, the vice chairman of the authority, and Bryan Bush, 52, also of Sewell, were charged with official misconduct, conspiracy to commit official misconduct and perjury.
The authority declined comment.
The Democratic leader was not named in the complaint nor was he charged with any wrongdoing, but The Philadelphia Inquirer has previously identified him as George Norcross III. His spokesman, Dan Fee, in a statement said: “As we have said repeatedly and in prior public statements, Mr. Norcross had no involvement in the South Jersey Transportation Authority matter.”
The charges, filed by the New Jersey Attorney General’s office, alleged that Milam and Bush conspired to prevent for political purposes the payment of invoices submitted to the board by a civil engineering firm. According to prosecutors, their action effectively halted compensation to the company for work it had already completed for the authority.
The complaint specifically referred to a “political feud” involving “a South Jersey Democratic Party leader,” who was identified in previous reports and confirmed by sources to be Norcross, and a Mercer County commissioner over his failure “to stay neutral in the Democratic primary for Mercer County Executive.”
The firm was also not named in the complaint, but had earlier been identified by several news outlets as T&M Associates of Middletown.
The SJTA operates the Atlantic City Expressway, the Atlantic City International Airport, and parking facilities in Atlantic City.
The state’s long-running investigation was detailed earlier this year by The Philadelphia Inquirer, which reported that the South Jersey Transportation Authority’s board had voted on multiple occasions in early 2023 not to approve invoices from Middletown-based firm T&M Associates, which held a contract for engineering and construction management work. All other vendors were paid during that period.
The Inquirer and Politico reported that the decision to halt payments came after a meeting between Norcross and T&M vice president John Cimino, who is also a Mercer County commissioner, regarding an endorsem*nt in a contested race for Mercer County executive. After Cimino refused, Norcross’ insurance brokerage, Conner Strong & Buckelew, abruptly dropped T&M as a client, Politico reported.
The investigation grew out of a still ongoing probe into Camden and development dealings first reported by NJ Advance Media more than a year ago.
The complaint unsealed on Friday, referring to Cimino only as “an employee of the engineering firm” and a Mercer County Commissioner, who had defied instructions from “a South Jersey Democratic Party leader to remain neutral in the Democratic primary for Mercer County Executive.
Cimino did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Prosecutors said the decision to withhold payment from the firm — agreed upon by Milam and Bush during private conversations — “was allegedly retaliatory,” to punish the Mercer County commissioner’s failure to comply with the order to remain neutral.
According to the complaint, Milam and Bush cast votes during three SJTA Board meetings in 2023 following behind-the-scenes discussions, to prevent the authority from making legitimate payments due to the engineering firm, which the pair “was allegedly targeting for political reasons.”
Prior to their votes, Milam sent a text message to Bush on February 8, 2023 that stated, “They cut South Jersey in Mercer County so now we vote no.”
Prosecutors said the two knew they did not have a legitimate basis to cast votes denying the payments.
The complaint charged that Milam’s and Bush’s votes opposing approval of that compensation prevented the authority from reaching the five votes needed for approval. As a result, during those three months, the firm’s invoices for services that had been rendered were not approved and remained unpaid, with additional invoices piling up each month.
In a statement, state Attorney General Mattew Platkin said the investigation was sending a clear message.
“No matter how connected or powerful you are, if there is evidence suggesting that you have used your position and taxpayer dollars for political retribution or gain, we will hold you accountable,” he said. “And if you lie to a grand jury, as alleged here, to cover up your conduct, you will answer for that, too.”
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Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL
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