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 David Wildstein, a former senior Christie appointee to the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey, pleaded guilty to two counts
of conspiracy at a U.S. district court in Newark.
Prosecutors also unsealed a nine-count indictment against Bill
Baroni, former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of
New York and New Jersey and Bridget Kelly, a former deputy chief of
staff to Christie. Among the charges are conspiracy and wire fraud.
Paul Fishman, who succeeded Christie as the U.S. Attorney for New
Jersey, said no one else was expected to be charged in the bridge
scandal, based on current evidence.
Friday's charges were the first stemming from the September 2013
shutdown in Fort Lee, New Jersey, of access lanes to the world's
busiest bridge. School buses, ambulances and commuters were delayed
for hours, and traffic was snarled for days.
“Today's charges make clear that what I've said from day one is
true, I had no knowledge or involvement in the planning or execution
of this act," Christie said in a statement.
 "The moment I first learned of this unacceptable behavior I took
action, firing staff believed to be accountable, calling for an
outside investigation and agreeing to fully cooperate with all
appropriate investigations, which I have done. Now 15 months later
it is time to let the justice system do its job.”
Kelly said in a press briefing that she is not guilty of the charges
and that it was absurd to believe a member of Christie's staff could
close a bridge. Baroni's lawyer called the accusations false.
Attorneys for both accused Wildstein of lying to prosecutors and
lawmakers investigating the incident.
Wildstein was released on his own recognizance on a $100,000 bond.
He could face up to 15 years although his cooperation with
prosecutors will be a factor in determining his sentence, Fishman
said, adding that Wildstein was unlikely to be sentenced until after
the other cases come to trial.
"He deeply regrets what occurred," said Wildstein's attorney, Alan
Zegas, outside the courthouse, adding that by cooperating it "should
shed truth on what occurred."
Zegas said, "evidence exists to establish" that Christie knew of the
lane closures while they were occurring.
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Prosecutors said Wildstein, Kelly and Baroni conspired to punish the
mayor of Fort Lee for refusing to endorse Christie for governor. The
three arranged to shut down the bridge lanes and decided that doing
so on the first day of school would maximize the congestion.
The guilty pleas and indictments were another blow to Christie, an
early favorite in what is likely to be a crowded Republican
presidential field for 2016. Lately he has been lagging other
potential candidates.
"Problems in your home state create an undertow for presidential
candidates and sometimes they pull them under," said Rob Gray, a
Republican strategist in Boston.
"It won’t help him on the money front, that’s for sure," Gray said,
commenting on Christie's fundraising prospects.
Blunt-spoken Christie has denied knowing about the incident, and a
joint panel of Democrats and Republicans in December found no
evidence he was involved. Still, the political fallout has hurt his
brand as he considers a presidential run.
"There is a certain power of an indictment that had not been present
in the equation," said Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist in
Florida. "At this point, it's hard to see what the predicate is for
a Chris Christie presidential run."
Other reported investigations into alleged abuse of power were not
addressed Friday. These include a probe into potential conflicts of
interest by former Port Authority chairman David Samson, another
Christie appointee.
(Additional reporting by Luciana Lopez and James Oliphant; writing
by Dan Burns and Megan Davies; editing by Nick Zieminski and David
Gregorio)
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