I took fall for ‘happy’ Chris

CONE OF Chris Christie’s cronies at the Port Authority testified Wednesday he thought he was still on the New Jersey governor’s “team” as he took the fall for the Bridgegate scandal — while defense attorneys sought to portray him as the mastermind of the gridlock.

David Wildstein (near right), testifying under a plea agreement with the federal government, said he believed Christie’s opinion of him did not sour after the underling resigned from the Port Authority due to the four days of gridlock in Fort Lee in September 2013.

“I had been told by others that I was still on the governor’s team. That I was still valued,” said Wildstein, who resigned on Jan. 2, 2014. “I was told that Gov. Christie was happy I had stepped up and taken responsibility.”

Wildstein said Christie’s admiration for him was communicated by Bill Stepien, the governor’s reelection campaign manager in 2013, as well as Michael DuHaime, Christie’s top strategist outside the governor’s office. Both were aware of the political retaliation scheme directed at the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee for refusing to endorse Christie for a second term, Wildstein said.

Wildstein’s boss at the Port Authority, Bill Baroni, and former Christie aide Bridget Kelly face nine counts related to the lane closures from Fort Lee to the George Washington Bridge.

Christie (photo inset), a Republican, has said he had no knowledge of the lane-closure scheme.

Baroni’s attorney Michael Baldassare grilled Wildstein on evidence he was close to Christie. Wildstein and Christie went to the same high school, where they were acquaintances. Kelly’s attorneys has referred to Wildstein as Christie’s Rottweiler. On Wednesday, Wildstein told jurors that the governor also gave him a nickname from “Pulp Fiction” — Winston Wolfe, a character who cleans up bloody messes.

Wildstein admitted that two weeks after he started working for Baroni — who was the top New Jersey official at the Port Authority — they attended a 2010 meeting with Christie in which the governor decided who at the agency should be fired. Christie was initiating a purge of Democrats at the authority to make way for Republican staff, Wildstein said. He had compiled the list of people who could potentially get the ax.

Baldassare also noted that it was Wildstein who told Baroni — his boss — to maintain “radio silence” as inquiries from Fort Lee mounted about the traffic jam.

“You told Bill ‘radio silence’ and he went radio silence, correct?” Baldassare asked.

“Yes,” Wildstein replied.