CHALLENGED BY NEWSPAPER TO RANDOM DRUG CHECK, FABRIZI TESTS CLEAN

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. --Mayor John M. Fabrizi, who tearfully confessed
last month to occasional cocaine use while in office, passed a random
drug test after being challenged last week by the local newspaper.

The Connecticut Post reported Sunday that after being challenged to
take the drug screening, Fabrizi immediately canceled his afternoon's
appointments and accompanied the paper's managing editor to a testing
center in Milford.

The urine analysis, done overnight by a Kansas laboratory, came back
negative for cocaine and four other drug categories. Fabrizi has also
agreed to the newspaper's request for a future drug screening at an
independent laboratory on a sample of his hair.

Fabrizi, a Democrat and former City Council president who took office
after former Mayor Joseph Ganim was convicted of corruption in 2003,
confessed last month to occasional cocaine use over the years.

He said it never affected his work, and that he has been drug free
for 18 months after seeking treatment. The mayor apologized, saying
he would take a random test "any time, anyplace, anywhere."

He would not say who sold him the drugs and has said he has no plans
to leave office.

Information from: Connecticut Post, http://www.connpost.com (c) Copyright 2006