South Jersey Transportation Authority denies improperly delaying vendor payments

A week after two South Jersey Transportation Authority commissioners were indicted for allegedly using their positions to retaliate against Mercer County Commissioner John Cimino (D-Hamilton)’s engineering firm in 2023, SJTA officials are pushing back on the idea that the authority ever was party to any wrongdoing.

In response to questions from the New Jersey Globe, SJTA spokesperson David Zappariello declined to directly comment on the indictments against sitting Commissioner Christopher Milam and former Commissioner Bryan Bush. He did, however, defend the SJTA against accusations that the board has ever improperly denied payments to Cimino or any other vendor.

“It is important to emphasize that the Authority has never inappropriately delayed or refused payment to any vendor,” Zappariello said. “All vendor work is subject to a thorough review process prior to payment.”

According to the indictment, after Cimino declined to align with the South Jersey Democratic organization in the race for Mercer County Executive, Milam and Bush conspired to block payments to Cimino’s firm by voting no at three SJTA meetings in spring 2023. (Five yes votes are required for payment approval on the nine-member board.)

“They cut South Jersey in Mercer County so now we vote no,” Milam allegedly texted Bush prior to the votes.

Zappariello, however, said today that the delay in approval for Cimino’s payment stemmed from commissioner absences, and the payment was approved when enough commissioners were present at a later meeting.

“At the times when these payment votes were initially presented, there were not enough Commissioners present to meet the voting threshold of five affirmative votes for payment of the bills presented by the engineering firm,” he said. “Once additional Commissioners of the Board were present at a subsequent Board meeting, the bills were brought forward again and subsequently approved.”

“A separate matter arose involving an error identified in the engineering firm’s work on a specific project,” he added. “The Authority and the firm entered into a mutually agreed-upon settlement to resolve the issue.”

Zappariello’s statement, however, seems to leave one key point unclear: whether there there fewer than five commissioners present at the meetings, meaning that the payment couldn’t have been approved regardless of what Milam and Bush did, or whether the five-vote threshold wasn’t met because Milam and Bush voted no.

While the indictment refers to a Mercer County Executive campaign that’s been over for more than two years, it’s become part of a broader fight between Attorney General Matt Platkin and the South Jersey Democratic organization. Platkin said he intends to “hold to account” those who (allegedly) use their official positions for political retribution; Milam claimed that Platkin is simply using the indictments as a substitute for prosecuting South Jersey boss George Norcross.

“Matt Platkin is a political hack who threw his fishing line and bobber into the deep sea to catch a whale,” Milam said after the indictment was released. “Now he has resorted to netting two minnows.”

Milam is also an important figure in Gloucester County Democratic politics, serving as chairman of the Democratic committee in Washington Township (the county’s largest town) – until today. Milam announced this afternoon that he’s stepped down as chair in the wake of the indictment, and former Mayor Laurie Burns will take his place.

“The Democratic Party is bigger than any one person,” Milam said in a statement. “While I maintain my innocence and intend to fight these charges, I believe stepping aside as chair is the best decision for the party moving forward.”