Via Raw Story, a breakdown of the major players in the GWB lane closure scandal:

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow broke down the curious reversal of fortune for New Jersey Port Authority chair David Samson since the man who installed him in the position, Gov. Chris Christie (R), took office in 2010, and the intersection of his possible involvement in both the threats against the mayor of Hoboken and the lane closure scandal concerning the George Washington Bridge.

Maddow cited a WNYC-FM report pointing out that Samson’s law firm, Wolff and Samson, went from doing $40,000 worth of business a year to more than $1 million a year after being named to the Port Authority.

But the firm also represents the development group behind a development project in Hoboken that allegedly prompted Christie’s Lieutenant Governor, Kim Guadano (R) to threaten Mayor Dawn Zimmer to expedite it or risk losing relief funds in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

And as Maddow pointed out, Samson has hirednot just ex-Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff’s law firm to represent him, but a separate legal team and a public relations firm.

Samson appeared to be one of scores of Christie allies appointed to work at the Port Authority; a lawsuit filed by a former employee alleged that Christie’s administration installed 80 people at the agency, where the average salary exceeds $140,000.Uncovering corruption there, Maddow said, “[is] not like busting up a card game on the corner. It’s like busting up Las Vegas. The Port Authority is rich, and it behaves like it.”