Former Christie ally, 'Bridgegate' mastermind avoids prison

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A former ally to Gov. Chris Christie who was the mastermind of the 2013 George Washington Bridge lane-closing scheme will avoid prison after pleading guilty and giving testimony that helped convict two former aides to him.

Federal Judge Susan Wigenton in Newark sentenced David Wildstein to three years' probation today along with 500 hours of community service and a ban on working in government.

He faced 21 to 27 months in prison under a plea agreement, but federal prosecutors asked for him to only get probation after his testimony helped convict former Christie staffer Bridget Kelly and Wildstein's former supervisor, former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey executive Bill Baroni.

"All three of us put our faith in a man who neither earned it nor deserved it," Wildstein said in court today of the three charged and Christie. "I willingly drank the Kool-Aid of a man I'd known since I was 15 years old."

Wildstein's sentencing brings to an end a sordid saga that has left a cloud over Christie's administration. The scandal contributed to his approval rating falling from around 70 percent to 15 percent.

Christie, who is nearing the end of his two-term stay in the Statehouse, wasn't charged but saw his presidential aspirations run aground by a scandal that dragged on for more than three years because of the scheme Wildstein launched to punish a Democratic mayor who wouldn't endorse Christie's 2013 re-election.