Things have been pretty quiet on the GWB scandal front, but here's one that adds more color to the day the jam unfolded in Fort Lee. From The Record:
On the second day of the George Washington Bridge lane closures last year, a Port Authority police officer stationed at a traffic-clogged intersection near the bridge picked up his radio. The traffic was creating “hazardous conditions,” he told fellow officers over the radio, and the lanes needed to be re-opened.
“Shut up,” a Port Authority police supervisor at the bridge replied, instructing the officer not to discuss the apparently secret operation over an open radio channel.
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The report does point out that much of this is anecdotal to the overall scandal, but then again, even the smallest bit of information could lead to something bigger down the road.
Perhaps the most explosive anecdote was provided on behalf of a 12-year officer, Steve Prisciotta, who is typically one of the first officers to arrive at the bridge before the morning rush hour, according to the summary. Prisciotta’s attorney said his client, who had worked at the bridge for over five years, recognized early on that the closures were causing traffic safety problems and voiced his concern over the radio, according to the summary.
Deputy Inspector Darcy Licorish “replied to Pisciotta by radio, telling him to ‘shut up’ and that there could be no further discussion of the lane closures over the air.”
Michaels and a police sergeant then “visited him in person at his post to tell him that his radio communication had been inappropriate.”
A second officer, Angela Tait, said she witnessed both exchanges.
Read the full story, as it has much more than just what is blockquoted here.