Supreme Court: New Jersey can quit mob-busting port agency

By JESSICA GRESKO
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court says New Jersey can withdraw from a commission the state created decades ago with New York to combat the mob’s influence at their joint port. The high court ruled unanimously Tuesday that the Garden State doesn’t need New York’s consent to withdraw from the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor. The commission was created in 1953 when organized crime had infiltrated the port and was demanding payments from workers and shippers through extortion and violence. New Jersey lawmakers have said that changes in the industry, including the development of container shipping, have lessened the influence of organized crime at the port and reduced the need for the commission. The state says the commission has become “an impediment to economic growth.”