Judge grants reprieves to defendants in bridge scandal

TRENTON, N.J. — A former Chris Christie appointee convicted in the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal was ordered freed from prison by a federal judge Monday pending an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton signed the order shortly after attorneys for Bill Baroni, who had started serving an 18month sentence in April, filed it.

The judge also ruled Bridget Kelly would not have to report for a 13month sentence on July 10 for her role in the 2013 scheme, commonly called Bridgegate.

Baroni’s and Kelly’s attorneys sought reprieves in light of the high court’s decision Friday to review the case in the fall.

Their convictions stem from the 2013 closure of lanes to the bridge connecting New Jersey and New York City as part of a political payback scheme.

Baroni was not initially part of the appeal, but has since been permitted to join Kelly’s effort to overturn their 2016 convictions.

Kelly and Baroni have said they’re grateful the Supreme Court is hearing their appeal and are hopeful the court will find no crime was committed.

Both Baroni and Kelly had their sentences reduced after an appeals court tossed out civil rights convictions last fall. They were also convicted on wire fraud charges for their role in shutting down the bridge’s local lanes in Fort Lee, N.J., causing gridlock in the town.

Baroni was the deputy executive director at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the region’s airports, bridges and tunnels, including the George Washington Bridge. Kelly served as Christie’s deputy chief of staff. She authored a nowinfamous email that included the line “time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.”

The town’s mayor, a Democrat, declined to endorse Christie, a Republican, for his reelection in 2013. Christie was courting Democrats as part of an effort to show he had crossparty appeal.

Christie has denied any wrongdoing and wasn’t charged. Following the developments in the case Friday, Christie said in an appearance on ABC's “The View” that he has always thought the prosecution was political and that no crimes had been committed.

The scandal generated bad press for Christie and played a role in his failed 2016 presidential campaign, with his rivals using it to attack the governor. Thencandidate Donald Trump, for example, said on the trail that Christie knew about the bridge closure — something Christie always denied.