Slime ducks jail time
Bridgegate rat feels shame, rips Christie
BRIDGEGATE ARCHITECT David Wildstein says too much Christie Kool-Aid made him feel drunk with power.
The key prosecution witness, before dodging a prison sentence for the George Washington Bridge gridlock, blasted his old frenemy Gov. Chris Christie for cultivating a vibe of vindictiveness in his administration.
Wildstein, 55, whose testimony helped convict former Christie staffer Bridget Kelly and Port Authority executive Bill Baroni, said all three fell under the governor’s bullying sway.
“Each of us put our faith and trust in a man that neither earned it or deserved it,” a weepy Wildstein said Wednesday in Newark Federal Court. “I willingly drank the Kool-Aid of a man I’d known since I was 15 years old.”
Wildstein and Christie were classmates at Livingston High School. Thirty years later, the newly elected governor approved Wildstein for a post at the Port Authority in 2010.
Christie also appointed Baroni, and hired Kelly for his staff. Baroni was sentenced in March to two years, while Kelly received an 18-month term.
U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton, who sentenced Wildstein to three years of probation and barred him from politics, joined the defendant at pointing the finger at Christie.
“This culminates a sad chapter in the history of New Jersey,” she said. “There clearly was a culture and an environment in the governor’s office that made this outrageous conduct seem acceptable.”
The September 2013 lane closings were revealed as a petty and politically motivated rebuke of Fort Lee, N.J., Mayor Mark Sokolich over his refusal to endorse Christie.
Wildstein’s voice cracked and he appeared close to tears as he addressed the court.
“I admit to being a willing participant in a culture that was, upon reflection, disgusting,” Wildstein said. “I feel shame. This was a terrible decision that will define the remainder of my life.”
The Bridgegate scandal helped torpedo Christie’s White House aspirations and started a political freefall that now has the governor’s New Jersey approval rate at just 15%.
The lame-duck governor immediately fired back at Wildstein as a habitual liar who bragged about a phony relationship with Christie.
“Mr. Wildstein devised this outrageous scheme all by himself, coerced others to participate in it and then turned himself in to avoid imprisonment,” Christie spokesman Brian Murray said.
“The culture at the Port Authority was created by the perpetrator of this conduct — Mr. Wildstein.”
Prosecutors had asked for no jail time for Wildstein, who faced up to 27 months behind bars under the terms of his 2015 plea deal.
“Were it not for Wildstein’s decision to cooperate and disclose the true nature of the lane reductions, there likely would have been no prosecutions related to the Bridge Scheme,” read a pre-sentencing letter sent to the judge.
Wigenton agreed, handing down the lightest possible term. Wildstein was also ordered to perform 500 hours of community service and pay $24,000 in fines — with $14,000 earmarked for the Port Authority as restitution.