John Michael Fabrizi (born December 25, 1956) is a former

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequo ...

, succeeded by Bill Finch. He is also a member of the U.S. Democratic Party.

Career

Fabrizi holds degrees from

Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply Southern) is a public university in New Haven, Connecticut. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it was founded in 1893 and is ...

as well as the University of Bridgeport and has served in numerous

public service A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...

capacities. He was assistant director of Bridgeport's

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ral ...

program, and was also a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

of fifth and

sixth grade Sixth grade (or grade six in some regions) is the sixth year of schooling. Students are typically 11–12 years old, depending on when their birthday occurs. Different terms and numbers are used in other parts of the world. It is commonly the firs ...

rs. He was first elected to

public office Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment ( public governance), management of non-profit estab ...

, the Bridgeport Civil Service Administration, in 1983. In 1992, Fabrizi was elected to the Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee and in 1996, he was elected to the

Democratic State Central Committee of Connecticut The Connecticut Democratic State Central Committee (CT Dems) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Connecticut. Its chair is Nancy DiNardo. Democrats control both chambers of the state legislature, all constitutional state of ...

. In 1997, he was elected to the Bridgeport City Council. He became the mayor of Bridgeport in 2003, after the previous mayor, Joseph P. Ganim, was sentenced to nine years in a federal prison for corruption charges. As mayor, Fabrizi was a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, an organization formed in 2006 and co-chaired by

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a c ...

and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

mayor

Thomas Menino Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 53rd mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three ...

Cocaine and Alcohol Use

On June 20, 2006, Mayor John M. Fabrizi admitted to cocaine and alcohol abuse while serving as mayor. Prior to admitting to drug use, the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice ...

received a tip from Shawn Fardy, a Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee member, that he possessed a videotape of Fabrizi using cocaine. The information surfaced during an investigation into a drug ring led by Juan Marrero, a Bridgeport business owner. Mr. Fardy was sentenced to "no more than 27 months in prison" as a result of his arrest. On May 9, 2007, Fabrizi announced he would not seek re-election, but served on the

for the 2008-2010 term. More Recently, Fabrizi was a supporter of Bridgeport's Mayor Bill Finch.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabrizi, John M. 1956 births Living people Connecticut Democrats American politicians of Italian descent Southern Connecticut State University alumni University of Bridgeport alumni Mayors of Bridgeport, Connecticut