Pubdate: Thu, 19 Feb 2004
Source: Trenton Times, The (NJ)
Copyright: 2004 The Times
Contact:  http://www.njo.com/times/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/458
Note: Staff writer Kevin Shea also contributed to this report.

GUILTY PLEA FOR EX-MAYOR

Former Ewing Mayor Al Bridges pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to 
possessing crack cocaine when he was head of the township and vice 
president of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities.

Bridges, 56, entered the guilty plea to the drug charge as part of a deal 
made with the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Under the agreement, Bridges promised to cooperate with the government in 
the investigation and prosecution of others. Federal officials, however, 
would reveal no details of what or who they are investigating.

The Trenton school district counselor and former administrator at The 
College of New Jersey could face up to a year in prison and a $100,000 
fine. Asked about the charges after the hearing, Bridges said, "I have no 
comment, as you can imagine."

His attorney, Lisa Van Hoeck, a federal public defender in Trenton, also 
declined to comment on the case.

Bridges, dressed in a blue blazer and khaki pants, sat quietly while 
awaiting the hearing in federal court in Trenton and tilted his head 
downward during most of the proceedings before U.S. District Judge Garrett 
E. Brown.

Bridges acknowledged to the judge that on Feb. 10, 2000, FBI agents 
discovered he was in possession of 0.8 of a gram of cocaine. "Was this 
crack cocaine?" Brown asked. "Yes," said Bridges. "Did you know this is 
illegal?" "Yes," replied Bridges.

As part of the plea agreement, Bridges waived his right to an appeal and 
pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of possession of cocaine. Any other 
criminal charges from July 1999 to Feb. 10, 2000, were dropped as part of 
the deal, law enforcement officials said.

While Bridges could face prison time, a $100,000 fine or a combination of 
the two, he also could receive a lesser sentence in exchange for 
cooperating with the government on other investigations.

If Bridges "discloses information about other matters" and "provides 
substantial assistance to the government, we will make motion for the court 
to depart from guideline range," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Treby Williams.

After the hearing, Williams would not elaborate on the other potential 
matters except to say the agreement is a standard plea agreement.

Brown cautioned that Bridges could not count on any predictions or promises 
about his sentence, which Bridges acknowledged. He also ordered him to 
undergo drug testing and treatment.

Bridges was released on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond and is 
scheduled to be sentenced May 24.

Brown ordered Bridges to surrender his passport, but Bridges said he no 
longer has one. "It was destroyed," Bridges said. "When I was moving from 
one home to another, the passport was lost." Brown ordered him not to apply 
for another one.

The Mercer County Prosecutor's Office declined to comment on the case 
yesterday.

The incident that apparently led to Bridges' downfall occurred in Bensalem, 
Pa., in 1999, and resulted in Mercer authorities asking the FBI to 
investigate Bridges' possible involvement in illegal drugs.

Bensalem police were investigating a carjacking related to Ewing and 
stumbled onto Bridge's township car parked at a trailer park there.

Drug paraphernalia was discovered under the front seat, to which Bridges 
later expressed surprise. At the time, Bridges said the car was at the 
trailer park because he had encountered tire problems.

Ewing police realized that investigating Bridges for possible criminal 
behavior was a conflict of interest, so the department contacted the Mercer 
County prosecutor.

"Ewing (police) did exactly what they're supposed to," then-Prosecutor 
Daniel G. Giaquinto said in July 2002. "They are not in a position to 
investigate their boss." Because the case was outside of New Jersey's 
jurisdiction, the county referred the information to the FBI.

If the Bridges case had been handled by the county, possession of 0.8 grams 
of crack cocaine would likely have been charged as a third-degree crime at 
the state level, local vice officers said yesterday.

The prosecutor's office would likely send such a case to a pre-indictment 
conference and it would be handled at the municipal court level, officials 
said.

It was not known last night how the drug conviction might affect Bridges' 
employment as a counselor for Trenton's Daylight-Twilight alternative adult 
high school. Twilight School Principal Bill Tracy said Bridges came to his 
office yesterday morning to let him know what would come out in court.

"He felt he owed me too much to tell me on the phone," Tracy said. "He 
wanted to come in and see me face to face. He felt he'd disappointed us and 
disappointed all the people in Trenton that supported him."

Tracy said he reassured him he is an excellent worker and a friend, but 
that they would have to let legal matters play out and do what is in the 
best interest of the students.

The lawyer for the Trenton school board, Thomas Sumners, said he must 
research whether the law allows Bridges to keep his job as a guidance 
counselor. The state statute on forfeiture of public office states that an 
employee must surrender public employment if convicted of a drug offense of 
the third degree or higher or an equivalent federal conviction.

Trenton schools Superintendent James Lytle said Bridges went through a 
criminal screening process before his April 2002 hiring and the district 
thought he had a clean record upon leaving The College of New Jersey.

The first concerns surfaced, he said, when Bridges' ex-wife filed divorce 
papers making allegations of drug use and an FBI arrest that summer. Even 
then, he said, all they discovered was that Bridges was in a drug treatment 
program.

"I feel it's a tragedy in a sense because he's an extremely capable, 
personable individual, very committed to the community, very committed to 
the kids," Lytle said. "He's not the first person in the world to have an 
addiction problem. When your addiction begins to control your life, it 
begins to be problematic."

The guilty plea was met with shock by local officials who know Bridges.

Pat Coleman-Boatwright, the director of college and community relations for 
TCNJ, said Bridges retired of his own accord and that no one had any 
suspicions about his behavior until his ex-wife's divorce filing became public.

"Truthfully, to this point, we had no confirmations of these allegations of 
criminal activity," she said.

"I think everyone reacted similarly, on and off campus, to the issue - with 
great surprise," Boatwright said.

Ewing Mayor Wendell Pribila, who replaced Bridges and previously served as 
a township council member while Bridges was mayor, expressed surprise and 
sadness about the charges.

"I hope if this is the case, he seeks help if he needs it," Pribila said. 
"Al was an asset to this community, the college and the African-American 
people. He still has a lot to contribute. Hopefully he can see his way 
clear to get help and move on."

Pribila said he was unaware Bridges had problems until Bridges' wife made 
such allegations in divorce papers. He said he did not know what kind of 
help Bridges might be to law enforcement officials in other cases.

William Dressel, executive director of the New Jersey State League of 
Municipalities, said he found nothing suspicious about Bridges leaving TCNJ 
and his mayor's job for the Trenton school system.

"I am shocked," Dressel said. "I am absolutely shocked. Al Bridges, he was 
one of the most articulate, outspoken advocates for good government." 
Bridges was vice president of the league when the drug-possession incident 
occurred in 2000 and he become president in 2001.

"He always said, 'When I leave government service, I want to give something 
back to the youth. I want to go back to classroom.' He specifically talked 
about Trenton," Dressel said.

Bridges' ex-wife, Carole, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

In her divorce suit, she claimed her husband used drugs, abused her and was 
a womanizer. She said the FBI caught him making a crack cocaine purchase 
while driving a township car in January 2000, a claim Bridges repeatedly 
denied in court papers and in a public statement about his drug problem.

At the time, Bridges' divorce lawyer called Carole Bridges' allegations, "a 
fantasy."
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