MAYOR'S DRUG ADMISSION PUTS RUMORS IN THE OPEN

While Bridgeport Mayor John Fabrizi emotionally admitted to city
employees on Tuesday that he had abused cocaine and was seeking
treatment, some political insiders were calling the mayor's drug use
an open secret and his admission long overdue.

Gossip about Fabrizi's drug use - he has been referred to as a bon
vivant in his hometown newspaper - has been part of the city's
political fabric since the 1990s.

In 1998, with then-Bridgeport Mayor Joseph Ganim floating his name as
a gubernatorial candidate, then-city council President Fabrizi sought
local political advice on how to best position himself for a move
into the mayor's office.

"Get rid of the nose candy," one of the political insiders recalls
telling Fabrizi.

The insider said Fabrizi was told that voters could accept reports
that he enjoyed a few cocktails - Fabrizi also said Tuesday that he
has given up alcoholic beverages - but that persistent rumors about
illegal drug use could be toxic to his political aspirations.

A year later, Bridgeport restaurateur Michael Rizzitelli, whom mutual
acquaintances called a close friend of Fabrizi's, was found dead in
his home from acute cocaine intoxication.

In 2005, not long after prosecutors disclosed a sweeping narcotics
distribution case in Bridgeport, a gaggle of news reporters
alternated between city hall and the federal courthouse, chasing
rumors that Fabrizi would be charged or, at a minimum, chased out of
office by allegations of drug use. Political supporters again advised
him to disclose that he had a drug problem and was seeking treatment,
according to a Bridgeport political source.

Fabrizi was not charged with anything. But apparently there was
something to the media's suspicions. The same narcotics prosecution,
targeting brothers Juan and Victor Marrero, prompted Fabrizi's
admission a year later.

The U.S. attorney's office said earlier this week that it
inadvertently made public an FBI document in which Juan Marrero told
agents an alleged drug dealing colleague of his claimed to have a
video recording of the mayor using cocaine.

When reporters for the Connecticut Post in Bridgeport confronted
Fabrizi with the videotape claim, it set off the events leading to
the mayor's admission Tuesday.

Juan Marrero reportedly told FBI agents that the man who claimed to
have the video is Shawn Fardy, a political colleague of Fabrizi's.

Fardy, who was indicted two weeks ago on allegations of conspiring to
distribute cocaine, was a member of Bridgeport's Democratic Town
Committee until his resignation this week. A legal source familiar
with the drug cases said Tuesday that Fardy denies having a videotape
showing Fabrizi using drugs and denies ever claiming that he did.

After examining the records of Fabrizi's city-issued cellular
telephone, reporters for the Post found that someone using the phone
called Fardy 13 times between October and December 2004. At about the
same time, telephone records filed by prosecutors in federal court
show, Fardy was calling Juan Marrero to obtain cocaine that he then
passed onto customers.

After first denying that he knew Fardy, Fabrizi this week conceded to
the Post that Fardy is a friend of his brother, Mark. And the mayor
acknowledged calling Fardy on occasion.

Fabrizi's admission of drug use could be used in court, said Jeffrey
Meyer, an associate law professor at Quinnipiac University and a
federal prosecutor until 2004.

"To me it's difficult to imagine our federal and state prosecutorial
authorities are simply going to stand by and have one of the most
prominent elected officials in Connecticut admit to this kind of
illegal conduct without any kind of criminal sanction," said Meyer.

U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor said last week that Fabrizi was not a
target of the drug investigation that led to the filing in court of
the FBI report containing the videotape allegation. 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.

"Nothing has changed from the U.S. attorney's comments on Friday,"
Tom Carson, a spokesman for the office, said Tuesday.

Some adversaries have called for Fabrizi to resign, while supporters
pressed him to be more forthcoming after he said last week he had
"made poor choices in the past."

Cecil Young, a city sheriff who listened to Fabrizi's address, said
the mayor had misled voters for nearly two years and should resign.

"He needs help," Young said, adding that he wants proof Fabrizi
sought treatment from a licensed professional. "If I was busted for
something like that, I would lose my job."

Dr. Jay Berkowitz, a psychiatrist who works with substance abuse
patients and a friend of Fabrizi's, said he arranged for the mayor to
get drug treatment. "He's made every appointment," Berkowitz said.
"He's been very compliant with his treatment."

Keith Rodgerson, a Democratic city councilman, said he expected
Fabrizi's past drug use would be a new wrinkle in the city's already
notorious political culture.

"Bridgeport politics is real rough and tumble and bloody," he said.
"I think that this will just make it all the more bloodier come the
mayor's re-election."

Courant Staff Writer Arielle Levin-Becker and The Associated Press
contributed to this story.