ASBURY PARK PRESS :: MONMOUTH EDITION

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WEDNESDAY 09.21.16

TERROR SEASIDE PARK & NYC BOMBINGS

FEDS CHARGE
BOMB SUSPECT
Charges:
3 counts of
use of
weapons of
mass
destruction
2 counts of
bombing place
of public use
2 counts of
attempting to
destroy
property by fire
or explosive
3 counts of
using
destructive
device

Penalty if
convicted:
Life in prison
Ahmad Khan Rahami
is taken into custody
after a shootout with
police Monday in
Linden.
AP

At trial, mayor
tells of being
courted by
Christie aides
PAUL BERGER @PDBERGER

In the years before the George Washington Bridge

lane closures brought gridlock to Fort Lee, aides to Republican Gov. Chris Christie courted the towns Democratic mayor, the mayor testified Tuesday.
Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich recounted the enticements on the second day of a federal trial in Newark of
two of the governors former allies, Bill Baroni and
Bridget Anne Kelly, who are accused of causing traffic
jams at the entrance to the worlds busiest bridge to
punish Sokolich for refusing to endorse the governors
2013 re-election.
The perks included invitations to sit in the governors box at New York Giants football games, a private
tour of the new World Trade Center site while it was still
under construction, and holiday cocktail parties at the
governors mansion, Drumthwacket. Sokolich said he,
along with a couple of other mayors, was even invited
for lunch with Christie in the private dining room of the
governors mansion.
See TRIAL, Page 7A

Rahami may have

been in Seaside
Park before blast
COMPILED BY ERIK LARSEN
FROM USA TODAY NETWORK/NEW JERSEY
AND ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTS

Ahmad Khan Rahami, the 28-year-old man

charged Tuesday with the terrorist bombings in New
Jersey and New York, may have slipped into Seaside
Park on the night before Saturdays Marine Corps
charity race to plant his pipe bombs in a garbage can
at D Street and Ocean Avenue, a congressman said.
Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-N.J., said it is also his understanding that there is photographic and other forensic evidence placing Rahami at the scenes of all
the attacks over the weekend, including Seaside
Park.
Federal prosecutors late Tuesday unsealed an indictment accusing Rahami of a number of charges,
including three counts of use of a weapon of mass destruction, in planting bombs in Seaside Park, New
York and Elizabeth. The complaint says that Rahami
bought his bomb-making materials on eBay, and

THE RECORD

Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni outside federal court in

Newark Monday.

Freeholder says
Brick park plan is
breach of faith

See CHARGE, Page 2A

AMANDA OGLESBY @OGLESBYAPP

MORE COVERAGE
Racers from canceled Seaside Park event are invited to run
for free in N.Y.s Tunnel to Towers Run & Walk. 7A
Visit us at APP.com for the latest developments, including
video, photo galleries and the complaint against Rahami.
TARIQ ZEHAWI/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Terror plot: Former National Guard soldier gets 30 years for

thwarted plan to attack Chicago area armory. Page 2B

Mohammad Rahami, outside his Elizabeth business

Tuesday, gave police a terrorism tip about his son, bombing
suspect Ahmad Khan Rahami, in 2014. The younger Rahami
was captured on Monday after a shootout in nearby
Linden.

Town shut down, but wedding didnt

BRICK - Environmentalists, Ocean County Republicans and a group of local residents have joined in opposition to a plan to put a restaurant in a public park on
Barnegat Bay described as a jewel in the community.
Mayor John G. Ducey has proposed an open-air restaurant and bar at Traders Cove park, a marina near the
Mantoloking Bridge, as a way to pay down millions of
dollars in debt used to purchase the property a decade
ago.
Ducey said the acquisition, planning and development of Traders Cove cost $21 million, which he said
was more than the cost to build the BlueClaws ballpark
in Lakewood. Grants paid for part of Traders Cove, but
$15 million was borne by Brick taxpayers, he said.
Thats why its so important to come up with additional revenue sources, Ducey said.
At a more than two-hour hearing Monday, though,
about 100 people gathered in the municipal building to
See PARK, Page 6A

JERRY CARINO
CARINOS CORNER
Katie and Colin McKinnon had a
nice plan for their wedding celebration: ceremony on the beach in Seaside
Park, followed by a reception at the
Park Pavilion overlooking the boardwalk.
The weather cooperated.
The news did not.
Saturday mornings bomb explosion shut down
Seaside Park and left the couple scrambling for an alternative. Changing the date was not an option; guests
had flown in from all over the country.
I completely melted down, Katie said. We were
like, We have to do something. We cant get everybody
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back together like this.

Turns out, they didnt have to. As so often happens
in times of duress, people rose to the occasion. Thanks
to friends, family and a couple of restaurateurs who
went above the call, the McKinnons had a reception no
one will ever forget.

From just right to all wrong

Katie Sain, 33, and Colin McKinnon, 32, have known
each other since their days at Toms River High School
North. They graduated in 2001, moved to Seattle together five years ago and actually got married there in
2015. But they wanted a celebration with the folks
back home, and as every Shore local knows, SeptemSee WEDDING, Page 9A
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VOLUME 137
NUMBER 227
SINCE 1879