Pubdate: Wed, 21 Jun 2006
Source: Hartford Courant (CT)
Copyright: 2006 The Hartford Courant
Contact:  http://www.courant.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/183
Author: Edmund H. Mahony, Courant Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

MAYOR'S DRUG ADMISSION PUTS RUMORS IN THE OPEN

While Bridgeport Mayor John Fabrizi emotionally admitted to city 
employees on Tuesday that he had abused cocaine and was seeking 
treatment, some political insiders were calling the mayor's drug use 
an open secret and his admission long overdue.

Gossip about Fabrizi's drug use - he has been referred to as a bon 
vivant in his hometown newspaper - has been part of the city's 
political fabric since the 1990s.

In 1998, with then-Bridgeport Mayor Joseph Ganim floating his name as 
a gubernatorial candidate, then-city council President Fabrizi sought 
local political advice on how to best position himself for a move 
into the mayor's office.

"Get rid of the nose candy," one of the political insiders recalls 
telling Fabrizi.

The insider said Fabrizi was told that voters could accept reports 
that he enjoyed a few cocktails - Fabrizi also said Tuesday that he 
has given up alcoholic beverages - but that persistent rumors about 
illegal drug use could be toxic to his political aspirations.

A year later, Bridgeport restaurateur Michael Rizzitelli, whom mutual 
acquaintances called a close friend of Fabrizi's, was found dead in 
his home from acute cocaine intoxication.

In 2005, not long after prosecutors disclosed a sweeping narcotics 
distribution case in Bridgeport, a gaggle of news reporters 
alternated between city hall and the federal courthouse, chasing 
rumors that Fabrizi would be charged or, at a minimum, chased out of 
office by allegations of drug use. Political supporters again advised 
him to disclose that he had a drug problem and was seeking treatment, 
according to a Bridgeport political source.

Fabrizi was not charged with anything. But apparently there was 
something to the media's suspicions. The same narcotics prosecution, 
targeting brothers Juan and Victor Marrero, prompted Fabrizi's 
admission a year later.

The U.S. attorney's office said earlier this week that it 
inadvertently made public an FBI document in which Juan Marrero told 
agents an alleged drug dealing colleague of his claimed to have a 
video recording of the mayor using cocaine.

When reporters for the Connecticut Post in Bridgeport confronted 
Fabrizi with the videotape claim, it set off the events leading to 
the mayor's admission Tuesday.

Juan Marrero reportedly told FBI agents that the man who claimed to 
have the video is Shawn Fardy, a political colleague of Fabrizi's.

Fardy, who was indicted two weeks ago on allegations of conspiring to 
distribute cocaine, was a member of Bridgeport's Democratic Town 
Committee until his resignation this week. A legal source familiar 
with the drug cases said Tuesday that Fardy denies having a videotape 
showing Fabrizi using drugs and denies ever claiming that he did.

After examining the records of Fabrizi's city-issued cellular 
telephone, reporters for the Post found that someone using the phone 
called Fardy 13 times between October and December 2004. At about the 
same time, telephone records filed by prosecutors in federal court 
show, Fardy was calling Juan Marrero to obtain cocaine that he then 
passed onto customers.

After first denying that he knew Fardy, Fabrizi this week conceded to 
the Post that Fardy is a friend of his brother, Mark. And the mayor 
acknowledged calling Fardy on occasion.

Fabrizi's admission of drug use could be used in court, said Jeffrey 
Meyer, an associate law professor at Quinnipiac University and a 
federal prosecutor until 2004.

"To me it's difficult to imagine our federal and state prosecutorial 
authorities are simply going to stand by and have one of the most 
prominent elected officials in Connecticut admit to this kind of 
illegal conduct without any kind of criminal sanction," said Meyer.

U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor said last week that Fabrizi was not a 
target of the drug investigation that led to the filing in court of 
the FBI report containing the videotape allegation. He said FBI 
reports, which summarize statements made by witnesses but are not 
always corroborated, are typically filed under seal and apologized to 
Fabrizi for the release.

"Nothing has changed from the U.S. attorney's comments on Friday," 
Tom Carson, a spokesman for the office, said Tuesday.

Some adversaries have called for Fabrizi to resign, while supporters 
pressed him to be more forthcoming after he said last week he had 
"made poor choices in the past."

Cecil Young, a city sheriff who listened to Fabrizi's address, said 
the mayor had misled voters for nearly two years and should resign.

"He needs help," Young said, adding that he wants proof Fabrizi 
sought treatment from a licensed professional. "If I was busted for 
something like that, I would lose my job."

Dr. Jay Berkowitz, a psychiatrist who works with substance abuse 
patients and a friend of Fabrizi's, said he arranged for the mayor to 
get drug treatment. "He's made every appointment," Berkowitz said. 
"He's been very compliant with his treatment."

Keith Rodgerson, a Democratic city councilman, said he expected 
Fabrizi's past drug use would be a new wrinkle in the city's already 
notorious political culture.

"Bridgeport politics is real rough and tumble and bloody," he said. 
"I think that this will just make it all the more bloodier come the 
mayor's re-election."

Courant Staff Writer Arielle Levin-Becker and The Associated Press 
contributed to this story.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman