Accused ex-Port Authority official to tell his version of Bridgegate

NEWARK - Bill Baroni, a former top executive at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who is on trial in connection with 2013 lane closures at the George Washington Bridge, will take the stand Monday to testify in his own defense, his attorney said Friday.

This will likely be Baroni's best chance to convince jurors that he was not the cold public official who conspired with others to punish a small-town mayor for his refusal to endorse Gov. Christie's reelection campaign, as the government alleges and its star witness has testified.

David Wildstein, a former Christie ally at the agency, has testified that under the direction of former Christie aide Bridget Anne Kelly and with Baroni's approval, he ordered Port Authority personnel to close bridge lanes in September 2013, causing days of gridlock in Fort Lee, Bergen County.

Wildstein, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges last year, further testified that he conspired with Kelly and Baroni to cover up the scheme by promoting a sham story of a traffic study.

The alleged cover-up was punctuated by devastating evidence prosecutors showed jurors on Thursday: a video of Baroni testifying before a New Jersey legislative committee in November 2013 that the lanes were closed as part of a traffic study. The government rested its case Thursday.

On Monday, Baroni is expected to argue that all the information provided to him by Wildstein and Port Authority personnel, as well as discussions with the governor's office, led him to believe the traffic study was legitimate - not a nefarious plot.

Taking the stand also poses risks, however: He will have to explain to jurors, among other things, why he didn't respond to phone calls and emails from Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich complaining of gridlock and public-safety hazards from Sept. 9 to 13, 2013.

Kelly also is expected to take the stand in coming weeks. She and Baroni are charged with misusing Port Authority resources, wire fraud, civil rights violations, and related conspiracy counts.

On Friday, Baroni's attorney called some of Baroni's friends as witnesses. Marilyn Graber, 73, of Manchester, N.J., testified that she met Baroni about 10 years ago when they attended a weight-loss program at Duke University. Baroni, now "buff," weighed around 315 pounds at the time, Graber recalled. Baroni wrote a book about the experience, Fat Kid Got Fit: And So Can You!

"You have to be honest with yourself to be able to lose that kind of weight," Graber told jurors. "And you have to be honest with other people."

"We had a saying: Denial is not a river in Egypt," she added.

David Mixner, 70, said he met Baroni 10 years ago at a banquet for a gay-rights group and has been friends with him ever since.

"I would be stunned at any dishonesty from Mr. Baroni," he said.

U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton dismissed jurors around 11 a.m. Friday because of a scheduling conflict involving a witness, according to Baroni's attorney, Michael Baldassare.

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@AndrewSeidman