Congressman asks feds to probe E-ZPass data access by Port Authority
Source: The Record, NorthJersey.com
January 12, 2015, 5:42 PM Last updated: Monday, January 12, 2015, 5:42 PM
By MELISSA HAYES State House Bureau |
The Record
Congressman Frank Pallone is asking Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate whether the Port Authority improperly accessed E-ZPass data, an allegation that stems from a 2012 Senate hearing in Washington, D.C.
“It is our duty as public servants to protect the public trust,” Pallone said in the letter to Holder Monday. “These incidents seem to demonstrate the exact opposite, showing a remarkable abuse of power and violation of privacy.”
At issue is whether Bill Baroni, then deputy executive director of the Port Authority, should have had access to the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s E-ZPass records. Baroni, who resigned amid questions over the Sept. 2013 George Washington Bridge lane closures, cited the records during a Senate hearing on Port Authority toll hikes in April 2012, which Lautenberg participated in. Lautenberg was harshly critical of the toll hikes and Baroni used the data to show the senator had been crossing the Hudson River for free for decades.
After that hearing, Christie also revealed information about Lautenberg at a news conference, saying the senator didn’t pay for parking at Port Authority facilities and said he crossed the Hudson River “three or four times a week in 2005 and 2006.” In a report last week the International Business Times questioned whether Baroni and Christie should have had access to Lautenberg’s E-ZPass records, saying a reporter was denied access to the information through an Open Public Records Act request.
Read more: http://www.northjersey.com/news/congressman-asks-feds-to-probe-e-zpass-data-access-by-port-authority-1.1191486
Another potential Christie scandal....poring over the driving history of "enemies"?
I think the only solution to this rampant abuse of EVERYTHING in New Jersey is for Christie to be removed from office!
