'Bridgegate' Aides Get 1 Charge Overturned, Still Guilty On 2

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Two former aides to ex-Gov. Chris Christie successfully overturned a federal civil rights conviction for their roles in the "Bridgegate" lane-closing scandal.

However, judges for the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rules that Bill Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly are still guilty of wire fraud and misappropriating government resources.

"The office is reviewing the opinion and is grateful for the court's consideration of all the issues raised in the appeal," said Matt Reilly, a spokesman for the New Jersey U.S. Attorney's Office.

Kelly and Baroni were found guilty in November of all charges — conspiracy, wire fraud and civil rights violations — connected to the scandal, which involved shutting down several local access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee as retribution against Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, a Democrat, for not endorsing Christie for reelection in 2013. A federal grand jury returned a seven-count indictment against them in May 2015.

U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton sentenced Baroni, Christie's top appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, to 2 years in prison. Kelly was sentenced to 18 months.

(Related: Former Christie Allies Get Jail Time For Bridgegate Scandal)

Sokolich said that Kelly and Baroni did what they did with "a callous disregard for public safety and the lives of many people."

The case made additional headlines when Bill Brennan filed an ethics complaint against Christie, saying the scandal and ensuing trial unjustly cost taxpayers millions of dollars. Brennan claimed that Christie knew what his aides were doing regarding the lane closures.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Photo: Bill Baroni, center, former deputy executive director of The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, arrives at the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Courthouse on March 29, 2017 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)