South Jersey Transportation Authority officials indicted by grand jury

Two current and former officials on the South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA) who allegedly used their official positions to retaliate against Mercer County Commissioner John Cimino (D-Hamilton) in 2023 have been indicted by a grand jury, Attorney General Matt Platkin announced today.

SJTA Commissioner Christopher Milam, who was previously the Democratic municipal chairman in Washington Township, and former SJTA Commissioner Bryan Bush are facing charges of conspiracy, official misconduct, and perjury following an investigation by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability’s Corruption Bureau, Platkin said; each of the charges could carry multi-year prison sentences.

“This indictment indicates that these defendants abused their positions of power to get retribution,” Platkin said in a statement. “Scheming to unjustly use a public office as a weapon to manipulate and punish political opponents is misconduct, and those who engage in this type of behavior will be held to account.”

During the 2023 election for Mercer County Executive, the South Jersey Democratic organization led by power broker George Norcross quietly supported incumbent Brian Hughes over his Democratic primary challenger, Assemblyman Dan Benson (D-Hamilton). Despite being the challenger, Benson picked up a huge number of endorsements from local Democratic elected officials in Mercer County for his campaign; one of those endorsers was Cimino, who rebuffed South Jersey Democrats’ entreaties to remain neutral in the race.

Still, Milam and Bush denied any involvement by Norcross and former Senate President Steve Sweeeney in their actions.

According to the indictment, Milam and Bush then conspired to block Cimino’s engineering firm from receiving payment for work it had done for the SJTA. During three SJTA board meetings in 2023, the indictment says that Milam and Bush cast votes that effectively blocked Cimino from being paid, a decision that appears to have been plainly politically motivated.  There had been claims that the engineering firm admitted issues involving the quality of their work and the bills were paid after a negotiation. 

“They cut South Jersey in Mercer County so now we vote no,” Milam allegedly wrote to Bush in a February 2023 text message.

The perjury charge against both men stems from their allegedly giving false testimony under oath before a grand jury about why they voted against the payments.

“The defendants allegedly used their positions at the South Jersey Transportation Authority as leverage to pursue a political vendetta, betraying the public that they were meant to serve,” OPIA Executive Director Drew Skinner said. “As alleged, they then lied about the scheme under oath.”