GUILTY PLEA FOR EX-MAYOR

Former Ewing Mayor Al Bridges pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to
possessing crack cocaine when he was head of the township and vice
president of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities.

Bridges, 56, entered the guilty plea to the drug charge as part of a deal
made with the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Under the agreement, Bridges promised to cooperate with the government in
the investigation and prosecution of others. Federal officials, however,
would reveal no details of what or who they are investigating.

The Trenton school district counselor and former administrator at The
College of New Jersey could face up to a year in prison and a $100,000
fine. Asked about the charges after the hearing, Bridges said, "I have no
comment, as you can imagine."

His attorney, Lisa Van Hoeck, a federal public defender in Trenton, also
declined to comment on the case.

Bridges, dressed in a blue blazer and khaki pants, sat quietly while
awaiting the hearing in federal court in Trenton and tilted his head
downward during most of the proceedings before U.S. District Judge Garrett
E. Brown.

Bridges acknowledged to the judge that on Feb. 10, 2000, FBI agents
discovered he was in possession of 0.8 of a gram of cocaine. "Was this
crack cocaine?" Brown asked. "Yes," said Bridges. "Did you know this is
illegal?" "Yes," replied Bridges.

As part of the plea agreement, Bridges waived his right to an appeal and
pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of possession of cocaine. Any other
criminal charges from July 1999 to Feb. 10, 2000, were dropped as part of
the deal, law enforcement officials said.

While Bridges could face prison time, a $100,000 fine or a combination of
the two, he also could receive a lesser sentence in exchange for
cooperating with the government on other investigations.

If Bridges "discloses information about other matters" and "provides
substantial assistance to the government, we will make motion for the court
to depart from guideline range," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Treby Williams.

After the hearing, Williams would not elaborate on the other potential
matters except to say the agreement is a standard plea agreement.

Brown cautioned that Bridges could not count on any predictions or promises
about his sentence, which Bridges acknowledged. He also ordered him to
undergo drug testing and treatment.

Bridges was released on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond and is
scheduled to be sentenced May 24.

Brown ordered Bridges to surrender his passport, but Bridges said he no
longer has one. "It was destroyed," Bridges said. "When I was moving from
one home to another, the passport was lost." Brown ordered him not to apply
for another one.

The Mercer County Prosecutor's Office declined to comment on the case
yesterday.

The incident that apparently led to Bridges' downfall occurred in Bensalem,
Pa., in 1999, and resulted in Mercer authorities asking the FBI to
investigate Bridges' possible involvement in illegal drugs.

Bensalem police were investigating a carjacking related to Ewing and
stumbled onto Bridge's township car parked at a trailer park there.

Drug paraphernalia was discovered under the front seat, to which Bridges
later expressed surprise. At the time, Bridges said the car was at the
trailer park because he had encountered tire problems.

Ewing police realized that investigating Bridges for possible criminal
behavior was a conflict of interest, so the department contacted the Mercer
County prosecutor.

"Ewing (police) did exactly what they're supposed to," then-Prosecutor
Daniel G. Giaquinto said in July 2002. "They are not in a position to
investigate their boss." Because the case was outside of New Jersey's
jurisdiction, the county referred the information to the FBI.

If the Bridges case had been handled by the county, possession of 0.8 grams
of crack cocaine would likely have been charged as a third-degree crime at
the state level, local vice officers said yesterday.

The prosecutor's office would likely send such a case to a pre-indictment
conference and it would be handled at the municipal court level, officials
said.

It was not known last night how the drug conviction might affect Bridges'
employment as a counselor for Trenton's Daylight-Twilight alternative adult
high school. Twilight School Principal Bill Tracy said Bridges came to his
office yesterday morning to let him know what would come out in court.

"He felt he owed me too much to tell me on the phone," Tracy said. "He
wanted to come in and see me face to face. He felt he'd disappointed us and
disappointed all the people in Trenton that supported him."

Tracy said he reassured him he is an excellent worker and a friend, but
that they would have to let legal matters play out and do what is in the
best interest of the students.

The lawyer for the Trenton school board, Thomas Sumners, said he must
research whether the law allows Bridges to keep his job as a guidance
counselor. The state statute on forfeiture of public office states that an
employee must surrender public employment if convicted of a drug offense of
the third degree or higher or an equivalent federal conviction.

Trenton schools Superintendent James Lytle said Bridges went through a
criminal screening process before his April 2002 hiring and the district
thought he had a clean record upon leaving The College of New Jersey.

The first concerns surfaced, he said, when Bridges' ex-wife filed divorce
papers making allegations of drug use and an FBI arrest that summer. Even
then, he said, all they discovered was that Bridges was in a drug treatment
program.

"I feel it's a tragedy in a sense because he's an extremely capable,
personable individual, very committed to the community, very committed to
the kids," Lytle said. "He's not the first person in the world to have an
addiction problem. When your addiction begins to control your life, it
begins to be problematic."

The guilty plea was met with shock by local officials who know Bridges.

Pat Coleman-Boatwright, the director of college and community relations for
TCNJ, said Bridges retired of his own accord and that no one had any
suspicions about his behavior until his ex-wife's divorce filing became public.

"Truthfully, to this point, we had no confirmations of these allegations of
criminal activity," she said.

"I think everyone reacted similarly, on and off campus, to the issue - with
great surprise," Boatwright said.

Ewing Mayor Wendell Pribila, who replaced Bridges and previously served as
a township council member while Bridges was mayor, expressed surprise and
sadness about the charges.

"I hope if this is the case, he seeks help if he needs it," Pribila said.
"Al was an asset to this community, the college and the African-American
people. He still has a lot to contribute. Hopefully he can see his way
clear to get help and move on."

Pribila said he was unaware Bridges had problems until Bridges' wife made
such allegations in divorce papers. He said he did not know what kind of
help Bridges might be to law enforcement officials in other cases.

William Dressel, executive director of the New Jersey State League of
Municipalities, said he found nothing suspicious about Bridges leaving TCNJ
and his mayor's job for the Trenton school system.

"I am shocked," Dressel said. "I am absolutely shocked. Al Bridges, he was
one of the most articulate, outspoken advocates for good government."
Bridges was vice president of the league when the drug-possession incident
occurred in 2000 and he become president in 2001.

"He always said, 'When I leave government service, I want to give something
back to the youth. I want to go back to classroom.' He specifically talked
about Trenton," Dressel said.

Bridges' ex-wife, Carole, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

In her divorce suit, she claimed her husband used drugs, abused her and was
a womanizer. She said the FBI caught him making a crack cocaine purchase
while driving a township car in January 2000, a claim Bridges repeatedly
denied in court papers and in a public statement about his drug problem.

At the time, Bridges' divorce lawyer called Carole Bridges' allegations, "a
fantasy."