Bridget Anne Kelly, Bergen County Native, Indicted On 'Bridgegate' Conspiracy Charges

Bridget Anne Kelly, a Ramsey native, and Governor Christie’s former deputy chief of staff, was indicted Friday on nine counts of wire fraud, conspiracy, and depriving people of their civil rights in federal court in connection with the “Bridgegate” scandal, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.

Michael Critchley, Kelly’s lawyer, said that the mother of four’s life has been “affected dramatically” by the scandal. She has been unemployed since Christie fired her in January 2014.

Officials allege that Kelley, William E. Baroni Jr., former executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and David Wildstein, former director of interstate capital projects at the Port Authority, conspired to cause the local access lanes for the George Washington Bridge to be closed from the mornings of Sept. 9 to 13 to “maximize the congestion” as political payback.

>>Related: U.S. Attorney: No Additional Charges Forthcoming In Christie Administration ‘Bridgegate’ Scandal, Based On Current Evidence

Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich refused to endorse Governor Christie’s bid for re-election.

Wildstein, who admitted the scheme was political payback, pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of conspiracy.

Officials allege that Kelly’s e-mail and text message communications with Port Authority officials prove she had a major hand in the unnecessary road closures that caused major gridlock under the guise of a traffic study.

Ultimately, as many as eight people could be indicted in the notorious Fort Lee traffic jam, according to any number of news sources, from NBC News to The New York Times.

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