Hoboken, New Jersey mayor says Christie aides withheld relief funds

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie faces new accusations of exacting retribution for political reasons after a city's mayor accused his administration of linking millions of dollars in recovery money for Hurricane Sandy to a politically connected project.

Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer alleged on Saturday that Christie's lieutenant governor and a top community development official told her recovery funds would flow to her city if she allowed a commercial development project to move forward.

Christie is already embroiled in another scandal involving traffic jams apparently manufactured to settle a political score. That scandal has tarnished Christie's image as a straight-talking Republican capable of working across the partisan divide and it could threaten his standing as a leading potential presidential candidate in 2016.

Zimmer said Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno pulled her aside at an event in May and told her Sandy aid was tied to the project - a proposal from the Rockefeller Group aimed at prime real estate in the densely populated city across the river from New York.

"I was directly told by the lieutenant governor - she made it very clear - that the Rockefeller project needed to move forward or they wouldn't be able to help me," Zimmer said.

Christie's office denied Zimmer's claims, calling her statements politically motivated. Spokesman Colin Reed said the administration has been helping Hoboken secure assistance since Sandy struck.