Newspaper Uncovers Naming of Conn. Mayor in Cocaine Case

By: Federal prosecutors inadvertently filed a court document saying the mayor of Connecticut's largest city had used cocaine, but after a newspaper reported it Friday, they took the unusual step of apologizing to the mayor and tried to have the document sealed.

Bridgeport Mayor John Fabrizi was named in a summary of an FBI interview with Juan Marrero, who faces cocaine trafficking charges. Marrero said an associate had a videotape of Fabrizi using cocaine, according to the Connecticut Post, which reviewed the document.

U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor said Friday that Fabrizi was not a target of the drug investigation. He also apologized to Fabrizi and tried to seal the documents.

"We made a mistake here and I apologize to the mayor and anybody else named there," O'Connor said in a telephone interview. "That information should not have come out in that form and that manner."

O'Connor said FBI reports, which summarize statements made by witnesses but are not always corroborated, are typically filed under seal.

Fabrizi said in an interview Friday that he had made "poor choices in the past" but would not address the allegations of cocaine use.

"I'm not going to get into specifics," he said. "On a social basis, I made some poor decisions I can't make excuses for."

Fabrizi, a Democrat, took over as mayor in 2003 after Joseph Ganim's corruption conviction.