New Criminal Investigation Into Christie And The Port Authority May Cause Headaches For Cuomo Too (UPDATED - 7:45 PM)

From the NY Times:

The Manhattan district attorney’s office has subpoenaed documents from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey concerning a range of the troubled agency’s major construction projects, including several that have come under scrutiny as a result of the politically charged George Washington Bridge lane closings, a person with knowledge of the matter said Saturday.

The subpoena seeks records for an investigation that is in its earliest stages, the person said. But it nonetheless represents a significant development for Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and senior members of his administration, who have been enveloped in the scandal that grew out of the September closing of two access lanes at the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, N.J.

This new criminal inquiry opens what is in essence a third investigative front focused on the actions of Mr. Christie and his appointees, who are already the subject of an investigation by federal prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Newark, and one by a New Jersey legislative committee.

The new inquiry, being conducted by the Rackets Division in the office of the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., brings to bear an additional staff of seasoned corruption investigators who are most likely focused in large measure on a different set of corruption allegations and are seeking evidence of state crimes, rather than violations of federal laws.

Cuomo is not named in the Times article, but Cuomo got together with Christie a few years back to gin up Port Authority toll increases and PATH fare hikes so that both governors could raid the Port Authority coffers for cash to use on their own projects.

If the Manhattan DA is looking at what Christie was doing at the Port Authority and just who he was doing it with, Cuomo ought to be investigated too since little happens at the Port Authority that the governors of NY and NJ aren't both aware of.

We know too that Christie called Cuomo over the Bridgegate matter to get him to call of the dogs from his end.

Also, if they're looking at the WTC and Downtown Traffic Hub, well, that's Cuomo's part of the Port Authority.

Christie's got serious problems now, with three separate criminal investigations looking at him.

Cuomo's got some vulnerability over some of these matters too and so, while the primary thrust of the investigation is aimed at Christie and his political allies, I bet Sheriff Andy isn't going to be too exited to find out there's a criminal investigation into the Port Authority and such.

We just may yet find out what Cuomo knew about Bridgegate, when he knew it and what he did (or didn't) do about it.

UPDATE: WSJ says Vance didn't subpoena Cuomo or his aides:

Mr. Vance didn't ask for everything, this person said: While the subpoena sought correspondence among top officials of the authority and Mr. Christie's administration, it didn't seek similar correspondence with the office of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who shares control of the authority.

So definitely a much bigger problem for Christie than Cuomo.

Nonetheless, with Vance now looking into Christie and the Port Authority in matters that touch on Cuomo's jurisdiction at the same time that Preet Bharara is taking over the Moreland Commission work that Cuomo and his aides allegedly meddled in, we'll have a lot to keep an eye on.