MAYOR ADMITS HE USED COCAINE

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- Mayor John M. Fabrizi admitted yesterday he had
abused cocaine while in office and said he wanted to apologize "to
all the people of the city" but had no plans to resign.

The admission followed the inadvertent release of an FBI document in
which an alleged drug dealer claimed an associate had a videotape of
the mayor using cocaine.

In a tearful speech to about 200 city employees and residents in City
Council chambers yesterday, Fabrizi said he had not used drugs in 18
months and had sought help for a drug addiction that he had hoped to
handle privately.

"I want to apologize to my family, my friends, and all of the people
of the city of Bridgeport for my actions, my past actions," Fabrizi said.

Fabrizi is a Democrat who took office after former Mayor Joseph Ganim
was convicted of corruption in 2003.

U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor said last week that Fabrizi was not a
target of the drug investigation, which led to the FBI report being
filed in court. 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.

Fabrizi first admitted he had used cocaine to the editorial board of
the Connecticut Post, which reported the admission in yesterday's
editions. Fabrizi would not tell the Post how he obtained cocaine but
said he occasionally spent $20 or $40 to purchase it.