Christopher Milam, left, and Bryan Bush (LinkedIn)
A current and a former commissioner of the South Jersey Transportation Authority were indicted for allegedly plotting to keep the authority from paying an engineering firm and then lying to a grand jury about the scheme.
Commissioner Christopher Milam, 46, and former Commissioner Bryan Bush, 53, face six counts, including second-degree conspiracy, second-degree official misconduct and third-degree perjury, Attorney General Matthew Platkin and the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability announced Thursday.
A state grand jury in Trenton voted to indict Milam, the former vice chairman who still is a commissioner, and Bush, both residents of Sewell, Gloucester County, based on the investigation by the OPIA Corruption Bureau.
The men conspired and agreed from approximately February to May 2023, to vote to deny payment for services the firm already performed in what was an act of political retaliation, according to the indictment.
The perjury charges stem from allegedly false statements that the defendants made under oath while testifying before the state grand jury about their reasons for voting to block the payment of the contractor’s invoices.
“This indictment indicates that these defendants abused their positions of power to get retribution,” Platkin said. “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.”
Based on the previously filed complaint, indictment and other documents filed in court, the investigation revealed that Milam and Bush unlawfully conspired to prevent the payment of invoices submitted to the SJTA board by a civil engineering firm for political purposes, effectively halting compensation to the company for work it had completed for the authority.
“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,” said Drew Skinner, executive director of the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability. “As alleged, they then lied about the scheme under oath.”
It is alleged that, following behind-the-scenes discussions, Milam and Bush cast votes during three SJTA Board meetings in 2023, to prevent the authority from making legitimate payments due to the engineering firm. As alleged, the defendants knew they did not have a legitimate basis to cast votes denying the payments.
It is alleged that on each occasion, Milam’s and Bush’s votes opposing approval of that compensation prevented the Board from reaching the five votes needed for approval. As a result, for those three months, the firm’s invoices were not approved and remained unpaid, with additional invoices piling up each month.
The votes on the payments stemmed from a political feud, according to the investigation.
Prior to their votes, Milam sent a text message to Bush on February 8, 2023 that stated, “They cut South Jersey in Mercer County so now we vote no.”
Milam is active in Democratic Party politics and in February 2023, was selected chairman of the Democratic Executive Committee for Washington Township, in Gloucester County. An employee of the engineering firm is a Mercer County commissioner who had defied instructions from a South Jersey Democratic Party leader to remain neutral in the Democratic primary for Mercer County Executive.
Evidence gathered during the investigation indicated that Milam and Bush’s decision to withhold payment from the firm was allegedly retaliatory, to punish the Mercer County Commissioner.
The investigation also revealed that Milam and Bush committed perjury, giving false testimony under oath before the state grand jury in Trenton about their reasons for voting against the payments owed.
For example, as alleged, Milam falsely claimed he voted against the payments because of various purported issues with the engineering firm — including an error made by the firm that was not discovered until after the defendants began voting no.
Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in New Jersey State Prison and a fine of as much as $150,000. Third-degree charges carry a sentence of three to five years in State Prison and a fine of as much as $15,000.
