By Joseph Ax
NEWARK, N.J. (Reuters) - A former associate of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was sentenced on Wednesday to two years in prison for his role in the "Bridgegate" lane closure scandal that played a part in torpedoing the Republican's White House ambitions.
Bill Baroni, 45, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, was found guilty in November of plotting to close down access lanes at the heavily used George Washington Bridge in 2013 in an act of political retribution.
His co-defendant, former Christie deputy chief of staff Bridget Kelly, is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court in Newark later on Wednesday.
Prosecutors said the massive traffic jam they deliberately created in the town of Fort Lee was intended to punish its Democratic mayor for refusing to back Christie's re-election bid, as the governor's aides tried to burnish his bipartisan credentials in advance of his run for president.
Christie has denied any involvement and was not charged. But the scandal's lasting fallout dampened enthusiasm for Christie as he sought the Republican nomination for president in 2016 and has saddled him with record-low approval ratings in his home state.
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Federal prosecutors asked U.S. District Court Judge Susan Wigenton to impose a sentence of two to 2-1/2 years, while defense lawyers argued that Baroni's long career in public office, unblemished until "Bridgegate," warranted probation rather than prison.
Baroni told Wigenton he regretted "more than anything" his failure to stop the lane closures.
"That was my choice and my responsibility, and I made the wrong choice," he said.
But the judge said Baroni deserved some prison time for what she called "an outrageous display of abuse of power."
Baroni will be allowed to remain free on bail while he appeals his conviction.
Kelly and Baroni testified at trial that another Port Authority executive, David Wildstein, convinced them the lane realignment was part of a legitimate traffic study. But Wildstein, who pleaded guilty and was the government's star witness, told jurors the defendants were fully aware he invented the traffic study as a cover story.
It was Kelly's infamous email to Wildstein, that it was "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," that set the plan in motion, prosecutors said. The three officials selected the first day of school to maximize gridlock and ignored increasingly desperate pleas from Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for assistance.
No other officials have been charged over "Bridgegate," though prosecutors introduced evidence suggesting Christie and numerous members of his inner circle knew about the scandal earlier than they publicly acknowledged.
In an interview on NBC on Wednesday morning, the governor was asked whether he believed Baroni and Kelly should serve time behind bars.
"The judge will do what the judge believes is appropriate," said Christie, who was in Washington for a White House event.
(Additional reporting by Susan Heavey in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Jeffrey Benkoe)