The politically motivated George Washington Bridge access lane closures at the center of the Bridgegate scandal were not a crime, co-defendants William Baroni Jr. and Bridget Kelly have asserted in appeals of their criminal convictions.
In briefs filed on Friday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Baroni and Kelly argued that their conviction under 18 U.S.C. §666 for allocation of public property based on political motives represents a misuse of that statute. Baroni and Kelly were convicted under the law’s proscription on misapplication of government property, but they argue in court papers that their closure of toll booth access lanes used by Fort Lee residents merely allowed the use of those toll booths by other drivers. And the redirection of government property to a legitimate public use cannot be deemed a crime simply because it was done with an allegedly improper motive, Baroni and Kelly claim.
