Fort Lee Mayor: 'I Don't Wish Jail On Anybody'

FORT LEE, NJ — Borough Mayor Mark Sokolich said he is glad that the Bridgegate scandal is reaching one of its final chapters with Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni's sentencings Wednesday, but doesn't wish they be sent to prison.

"I'm not a pile-on guy. I don't wish jail on anybody," Sokolich said in a Fox 5 interview. "Now, I'm just glad there are institutions in place to make sure that when you do what they did, you're caught, you're prosecuted and you are sentenced."

Kelly and Baroni were sentenced to 18 and 24 months, respectively, in prison for their roles in shutting down several local access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee as retribution against Sokolich, a Democrat, who did not endorse Christie for reelection in 2013.

RELATED: Former Christie Allies Get Jail Time For Bridgegate Scandal

Kelly said after the sentencing that she would not allow herself to be the scapegoat in the case.

"If you’re a scapegoat, you’ve been blamed for something you had nothing to do with," Sokolich said. "When you’re a participant and you’re caught and you think others should have been caught with you, I think that’s more of the story for Bridget Anne Kelly.”

Sokolich said the scandal cost the borough $400,000 in legal fees and other associated costs. He said the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey refused to reimburse the borough the money.

See the entire interview here:

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