Wildstein sentenced to three years' probation in Bridgegate plot

David Wildstein was sentenced Wednesday to three years of probation for his admitted role in devising the political revenge plot at the George Washington Bridge that engulfed Gov. Chris Christie’s administration, leading to convictions, guilty pleas and a doomed presidential run in one of the most notorious political scandals of recent state history.

Wildstein’s sentencing marks the last major legal procedure in the three-year drama while bringing an ignominious end to a political career once filled with so much promise that there was talk he could become the first Jewish president of the United States.

Instead, Wildstein is now barred from holding political office or serving in government, and is ordered to serve 500 hours of community service in addition to paying off $24,000 in fines and restitution. Being barred from government work, he said, would be "agonizing" given his deep love of politics. 

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Dressed in a navy blue suit, Wildstein expressed remorse to Judge Susan D. Wigenton for his actions at the bridge — but also for his loyalty to Christie over the past four decades. In a parting shot at the governor, Wildstein said Wednesday that he regretted that he "willingly drank the Kool-Aid of a man that I knew since I was 15 years old" and participated in a culture in the Christie administration that was "disgusting." 

Wildstein apologized to Mark Sokolich, the target of the scheme; to the commuters trapped in the traffic he created, and to the residents of New Jersey for "magnifying the stereotype" of the state.

"There should be no doubt that I deeply regret my actions at the George Washington Bridge. It was a callous decision; it served no sensible purpose other than to punish a mayor," Wildstein said, adding, "It was stupid, it was wrong, I violated the law and I am profoundly sorry for that." 

While he avoided prison time for coming up with the traffic scheme, it marked a "sad chapter in the history of New Jersey," Wigenton said. "There clearly was a culture and environment in the governor’s office that somehow made this conduct seem acceptable," Wigenton added. 

Wildstein, 55, was mostly unknown to the public before three lanes to the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee were inexplicably reduced to one during the first week of school in 2013, causing gridlock leading to the world's busiest bridge. But he had been an executive at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the one who, on a tour of the bridge in 2011, identified the crossing as a "leverage point." 

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Two years later, when the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee declined to endorse Christie for re-election, Wildstein drew up plans to clog access to the bridge as punishment. He testified that he worked with his boss at the time, Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni, and Christie's deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, to carry out the plan over five mornings. 

Baroni and Kelly were convicted of conspiracy, wire fraud and civil rights violations last November and are appealing their sentences of two years and 18 months, respectively. 

Wildstein grew up in Livingston with Christie, but the governor has denied that they had a close personal relationship. Wildstein certainly floated in the same orbit as Christie over the years, developing relationships with his chief strategist, Mike DuHaime, adviser Bill Stepien, who now works for President Donald Trump, and longtime spokesman Michael Drewniak, as Christie ascended in the political world.

While Christie was U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Wildstein operated the blog Politics NJ, which would later become Politicker NJ. His relationship with Drewniak allowed him to break news on notable cases and keep a line to a rising public figure eyeing the governorship. 

In 2010, the year Christie was sworn in as governor, Wildstein was hired by Baroni — with Christie's approval — to serve as director of interstate capital projects at the Port Authority, an executive position that paid $150,000 a year. Although he and his attorneys noted his policy achievements during his three years at the agency, Wildstein also said during the trial that he was there to advance the interests of the governor in what he called the "one constituent rule." Christie was the one constituent who mattered, he said. 

Wildstein said Wednesday that he, Baroni and Kelly "put our faith and trust in a man that neither earned it nor deserved it.”

Christie's office rebutted Wildstein's "outrageous" characterizations and allegations.

"Mr. Wildstein devised this outrageous scheme all by himself, coerced others to participate in it and then turned himself in to avoid imprisonment for the crimes he has admitted to committing. That culture at the Port Authority was created by the perpetrator of this conduct — Mr. Wildstein. He is a liar who admitted throughout his testimony that he fabricated evidence of a relationship with the governor that never existed to enhance people's perception of his power, replete with 'rules' and 'sayings' that existed only in his own mind," Brian Murray, a spokesman for Christie, said in a statement. 

Prosecutors, however, said Wednesday that Wildstein's testimony — which included the assertion that Christie knew of the lane closures and their purpose as they happened — was true. They recommended probation for Wildstein because of his "extraordinary" cooperation in the case against Baroni and Kelly, whom Wildtsein described as friends. The prosecutors credited Wildstein with securing their convictions last year. 

"Were it not for Mr. Wildstein's cooperation, it is unlikely that we are here today," Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Cortes said. He also credited Wildstein with turning to prosecutors early and providing them with details and consistent information. "He said, 'I did this, this is why and this is who I did it with,' " Cortes said. 

Wigenton agreed and told Wildstein that she was "satisfied" that he provided "truthful" testimony during the trial.  She also said Wildstein cooperated with federal prosecutors in a separate case against David Samson, the former chairman of the Port Authority. Samson, whom Christie considers a mentor, admitted to using his power at the agency as leverage over United Airlines to convince it to restart a money-losing direct flight between Newark and Columbia, S.C., near where he has a home. Samson is now serving probation. 

"You began cooperating even before any plea agreement was offered to you. There was no race, and nobody else was running to the U.S. Attorney's Office," Wigenton said to Wildstein, whereas Baroni and Kelly “went to great lengths to falsely testify at trial.” 

But Wigenton said that was no excuse for his conduct. 

"I think what you did and why you did it is inexcusable," she said.