MAYOR OF SCANDAL-WEARY BRIDGEPORT ADMITS THAT HE USED COCAINE

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Fighting back tears, John M. Fabrizi, the mayor of
Bridgeport, Connecticut's largest city, admitted on Tuesday that he
had used cocaine and abused alcohol since he took office in April
2003, but said that it "never, ever affected my job performance" and
that he had "put this personal struggle behind me."

His emotional admission followed months of rumors and the disclosure
last week of a court document filed by federal prosecutors suggesting
that he had used cocaine with a local Democratic official. The news of
his problems was the latest black eye for this troubled city, whose
last mayor, Joseph P. Ganim, a Democrat, was convicted on bribery,
extortion and other corruption charges and is now serving a nine-year
federal prison term.

Speaking before a room packed with 200 city employees, residents and
reporters Tuesday morning at City Hall, Mr. Fabrizi, 49, expressed the
hope that his tenure would not end prematurely.

He also apologized for not having been frank about his failings
sooner, and asked the public to permit him to continue serving in a
job that he said he loves "heart and soul." A Democrat, he faces
re-election next year.

Mr. Fabrizi was the City Council president before becoming mayor when
Mr. Ganim resigned, then won election to the office in November 2003.
Though he has worked hard to revive his city's downtown, his grip on
power began to weaken last week when federal prosecutors filed a
document implicating him in a long-running drug investigation that has
already resulted in dozens of arrests.

Hours after The Connecticut Post published an article about the
document on Friday, United States Attorney Kevin O'Connor asked a
judge to seal the document and issued an unusual apology to the mayor
for having allowed it to become public. He said Mr. Fabrizi was not a
target of the drug investigation.

"I thought that these were personal and private matters to me and my
family," said Mr. Fabrizi, choking up as he read his statement, with
his wife, Mary, at his side patting his back. "I now recognize my
actions affected many others and I want to apologize."

Without going into details, he said that he had sought treatment for
his problems and that he had not used drugs since late 2004. He added
that he stopped drinking about four months ago. He told The
Connecticut Post in an interview on Monday that he initially gave up
drinking in 2005 but relapsed during the holidays.

About the time the mayor said he quit using cocaine, federal
prosecutors began wiretapping two brothers who have since been charged
with running a drug-trafficking organization. One of them, Juan
Marrero, who is awaiting trial, told federal agents after his arrest
last year that he was asked by Shawn Fardy, then a member of the
Democratic Town Committee, for cocaine, because Mr. Fardy told him
that Mr. Fabrizi was coming over and "needed a hit." Mr. Fardy has
been indicted in the case and last week pleaded not guilty.

Dr. Jay Berkowitz, a psychiatrist who is a friend of the mayor, said
that in or around October 2004, he began noticing some "erratic
behavior" by the mayor. In particular, he said in an interview, the
mayor was unusually loud and boisterous one night at a restaurant.

"He was handling the stress of the job beautifully, but with the job,
sometimes you have a lot of social functions and that's where he
thought he needed help," said Dr. Berkowitz, who spoke with the
mayor's permission.

He said that the mayor initially rebuffed him when he asked if Mr.
Fabrizi had a problem that required help, but that Mr. Fabrizi came to
him last spring or summer seeking help for substance abuse.

Dr. Berkowitz said he helped get the mayor into an outpatient
treatment program and believed Mr. Fabrizi was doing well. He also
said he understood that the mayor had been taking Antabuse, a
medication that makes a person sick if alcohol is imbibed.

Mr. Fabrizi, a former schoolteacher, said in his remarks that his
problems never affected his ability to govern. "The tremendous
progress Bridgeport has made over the past three years is a testament
to that," he said. "Folks, my record speaks for itself."

He vowed to work hard to "regain the respect and support of the people
of the city" and also to make the public "aware that even people in a
position like my own can become a victim of drugs or alcohol."

The mayor also added that he was "appalled by some of my recent
statements and the lengths to which I was willing to go to keep this
issue private. Having put this painful episode behind me well over a
year ago, I hope you can all understand why I foolishly wanted to
distance myself from this nightmare."

He received a standing ovation when he entered the room and applause
as he read his statement. He left without taking questions. Afterward,
many spectators said they would continue to support him.

"I think we can all relate to it," said Jill Bruno, director of
veterans affairs for the city. "I have some family members with
addiction problems, and it hit home. I don't know too many mayors who
stand up in front of a crowd and cry and pour their heart out to the
city."

Others interviewed in Bridgeport on Tuesday were generally less
sympathetic. Several mentioned the harsh penalties that acquaintances
had faced when they were caught up in drug problems. They questioned
whether the mayor would have come forward if he had not been
implicated in the investigation.

Maria Yaylagul, 20, a University of Connecticut student who is taking
a summer course at Housatonic Community College in downtown
Bridgeport, said, "It was kind of unfair that celebrities and people
in power get a get-out-of-jail-free card" when they break the law, but
not average citizens. "I don't think it should even be an option for
him to run again, a known drug addict."

Her classmate, David Jackson, 21, said he agreed that the mayor ought
to be a role model. "Don't they have drug tests for the mayor?" he
asked.

Several current and former politicians also said they thought the
mayor ought to resign for the good of the city.

"We can't be the town that has the mayor with the drug problem," said
Rick Torres, the Republican who lost to Mr. Fabrizi in 2003. "That's
for him to deal with, not for us."

Gary Rose, the chairman of the department of government and politics
at Sacred Heart University, said he expected the mayor to survive
since Bridgeport's residents forgive "practically all forms of
misbehavior on the part of their mayors."

Still, he said, "I think the mayor really has to decide sooner rather
than later as to whether he has the moral leadership for a city that
is really starving for ethical political figures."