Christie ties reportedly led to big gains for Wolff Samson

According to state records obtained by the radio station, Wolff & Samson’s lobbying business went from $40,000 annually prior to Christie’s first election to over $1 million per year afterwards.

WNYC also reported that according to records, the firm’s municipal bond counsel businesses has quadrupled since Christie took office, jumping from handling $2.4 billion worth of bond sales under Gov. Jon Corzine to $10.1 billion under Christie.

The former state Attorney General under Gov. Jim McGreevey, Samson served as counsel to Christie’s 2009 campaign and later as chairman of his transition team.

Though Samson has come under fire recently for emails hinting at his involvement in the George Washington Bridge scandal, Christie has stood by him and denied his alleged role in the matter.

The firm was again linked to the scandal last week as Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer alleged that Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno threatened to withhold Superstorm Sandy relief aid from her city if she did not give approval to a development project by the Rockefeller Group, which Wolff & Samson represents.

Zimmer has also claimed that she received pressure about the project from former Christie aide Lori Grifa, who is now a Wolff & Samson attorney.

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