Former Christie Aide Bill Baroni Loses Law License After 'Bridgegate' Conviction
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Bill Baroni, a former aide to Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie sentenced to prison for his role in a political revenge plot at the George Washington Bridge, had his law license stripped Thursday.
The state Supreme Court suspended Baroni's law license pending ethics proceedings against him.
Baroni, 45, was convicted in November over lane closures near the bridge in Fort Lee, in what has been dubbed the Bridgegate scandal.
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He was sentenced to two years in prison last week, while co-defendant Bridget Anne Kelly, 44, was sentenced to 18 months. Both were also sentenced to a year of probation, and they must also serve 500 hours of community service.
Both Kelly and Baroni already have appeals pending, and they will remain out of prison on an appeal bond until their appeals are resolved.
Baroni was the deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controls the bridge. He was Christie's appointee.
The government's star witness, David Wildstein, testified that he and the co-defendants plotted to cause gridlock to retaliate against the Democratic Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for not endorsing Christie's re-election.
Fort Lee suffered four days of gridlock in September 2013.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
