Christie’s Brother Flipped Properties Near PATH Project, Raked In Huge Profit
In the early hours, we reported on New Jersey scandals that have sprung from the same garden that gave us BridgeGhazi. One of them focused on what sure looked like a conflict of interest on the part of former Port Authority boss David Samson when he approved a quarter billion dollar refurbishment of a PATH train station. This morning’s edition of the Bergen Record reports that Chris Christie’s brother was busy flipping properties near the station – buying before the deal was public, selling after at a hueueuuge profit:
Governor Christie’s brother, Todd Christie, and two business partners have bought and sold a handful of properties within walking distance of the PATH station in Harrison, slated for a $256 million renovation funded by the Port Authority and championed by the governor, records show.
Todd Christie and his partners — one the owner of Ferreira Construction, a large firm that has done tens of millions of dollars of work for state agencies since Christie took office — created a company and began buying small residential lots in early 2011, about a year before the train station renovation was approved by the Port Authority.
The company built three homes on those lots in the first year and sold each of the improved properties — after the announcement of the station overhaul — for nearly triple the property’s original price. The company also demolished a home and sold the vacant lot to the school board in Harrison, where Todd Christie’s partners grew up and have worked in real estate for the past decade.
Hmmm… flipping lots and houses based on apparent insider information. If you thought the slow-motion train wreck involving Team Christie that is BridgeGhazi was the governor’s only problem, you might have to rethink things!
