Staffer’s head rolls as Christie looks to save neck over Bridgegate

Heads are rolling over Bridgegate.

Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday fired the top aide who brazenly plotted the crippling lane closures on the George Washington Bridge, multiple sources told The Post.

He also forced his two-time campaign manager – who was aware of the vengeful scheme and later played a role in the damage control effort – to take his name out of the running to lead New Jersey's Republican party.

Bridget Anne Kelly, 41, the deputy chief of staff who sent an email to longtime Christie crony and then-Port Authority official David Wildstein that read "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee" – was sent packing.

And Bill Stepien – who was only named as the new head the state GOP on Tuesday – also lost a lucrative contract with the Republican Governor's Association, of which Christie is the head.

Stunning emails released Wednesday disclosed Kelly, Wildstein and Stepien all knew of the scheme to punish Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for not endorsing Christie in last year's election.

Christie has adamantly denied knowing of then plot, which caused rush-hour delays of up to four hours, stranding school buses and slowing EMS response times.

The moves came as Christie desperately tried to put a lid on the "Bridgegate" scandal, hoping to preserve his hopes of securing the GOP nomination for president in 2016.

Christie was scheduled to talk about the scandal during an 11 a.m. news conference at the Statehouse in Trenton.

Only days earlier, Christie heaped praise on Stepien, who was expected to head up his campaign for the White House in 2016.

"I've asked Bill Stepien to be our new State Party Chairman because no one better understands how to grow our party, communicate our message and, most importantly, win elections," Christie said then in a statement. "Bill Stepien is the best Republican operative in the country, and New Jersey Republicans will be fortunate to have him leading our Party."

In between Christie campaigns, Stepien worked as the governor's deputy chief of staff for legislative and intergovernmental affairs in Trenton.

Also Thursday, Paul J. Fishman, the US Attorney for New Jersey, was set to announce a federal investigation into Bridgegate, The New York Times reported.

And the mayor of the New Jersey community crippled by the vengeful rush hour lane closures angrily blasted Christie as an "idiot."

"We are arguably the most progressive community in the state of New Jersey run by this idiot, and we should be applauded for that, not penalized for it," Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich said on MSNBC.

The Democrat also went after Wildstein.

"David Wildstein deserves an ass-kicking. Sorry. There, I said it," Sokolich said, charitably adding that he is not hoping that Christie was behind the "Bridgegate" scandal.

"I'm not rooting for an email to surface that specifically and expressly has the governor authorizing this retribution. I'm not because it's not in my nature," he said on the "All in With Chris Hayes" show.

"But I will tell you the credibility level is getting reduced and reduced and reduced as this story continues to move on."

Sokolich also dismissed Christie's contention that the two had never met.

"I have a feeling his recollection of me is a little better than he's revealing quite frankly," he said.

The feisty mayor then offered the embattled Republican governor some blunt advice – and demanded that the state reimburse the borough for costs incurred during the shutdown.

"You need to reach out to the families who were waiting for ambulances taking three times longer to get there you need to reach out to the thousands of families that couldn't get their kids to school and you need to reach out to my chief fiscal officer and figure out how much this cost Fort Lee so we can get a reimbursement check from Trenton," he said. "That's what I think we need to do. Don't apologize to me. I don't want an apology."

Kelly ordered the crippling closures to get back at Sokolich for refusing to back the governor's re-election bid, damning e-mails revealed Wednesday.

Christie, who had long denied foul play by his staff in the traffic mess, was not "cc'd" in the e-mails and claimed that Kelly and other trusted appointees kept him out of the loop on the plot.

"I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was I misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge," he said in a written statement after canceling his only public appearance on Wednesday.

"What I've seen today for the first time is unacceptable."

Kelly, who requested the lane closures in an August e-mail to Wildstein, then a Christie-appointed PA executive who later resigned as the scandal exploded.

"Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," she wrote.

"Got it," Wildstein replied.

Two of three on-ramps to the bridge were closed during the morning rush from Sept. 9 to 12 — the first days of the new school year — causing chaotic, hours-long backups on the streets of Fort Lee.

The delays were aimed squarely at Sokolich, who snubbed Christie's request for a bipartisan endorsement.

When Sokolich complained in phone calls to the PA, Kelly asked Wildstein in an e-mail if anyone returned his calls.

"Radio silence," he replied.

On the second day of lane closures, a sender whose name is redacted wrote Wildstein, "I feel bad about the kids."

He replied, "They are the children of Buono voters" — referring to Democrat Barbara Buono, whom Christie defeated easily in the November gubernatorial election.

The lane closures were halted after four days by a PA official appointed by New York Gov. Cuomo.

Wildstein reacted in an e-mail, saying the Christie-appointed PA chairman, David Samson, "is helping us to retaliate" against the New York officials.

The PA first blamed the surprise lane closures on a "traffic safety pattern" study.

Christie denied any involvement and said in December that the closures were "not a big deal."

But Wildstein and Bill Baroni — another Christie appointee to the PA — resigned as New Jersey officials investigated the traffic tie-up. Christie claimed it was unrelated.

Baroni got a letter from Sokolich on the fourth day of the closures, saying they had "wreaked havoc upon our community," according to The Wall Street Journal.

The gridlock delayed emergency responders in four medical situations.

Ambulances were slow to get to a 91-year-old woman who lay unconscious in the street, and she later died of cardiac arrest, according to The Record of Hackensack.

A state Assembly committee hearing is scheduled for Thursday in Trenton — and Wildstein is scheduled to testify. But Wildstein's lawyer has filed court papers to block the subpoena.

New Jersey Democrats were furious at the e-mails.

"These are terrible people and shouldn't be in office," Buono said.

Sokolich, who is of Croatian descent, was also angry that one of the e-mails referred to him as "this little Serbian."

And a former PA official piled on, blasting Wildstein, Christie's longtime pal.

"When you look up the 'Napoleon complex,' his picture is there. He had it to the N-th degree," the employee said about Wildstein. "With a word he could change your whole future. It seemed Baroni was the nice guy – the face of the organization – and Wildstein was back there doing the dirty work without worrying about the repercussions of his decisions. He felt he had free reign and the ultimate protection of governor's office."

"Pat Foye's life just got easier," the official said, referring to the PA chief. "He can go about his business without worrying what shenanigans Wildstein is up to now."

Christie, meanwhile, vowed to clean up the mess.

"One thing is clear," he said in his statement. "This type of behavior is unacceptable and I will not tolerate it because the people of New Jersey deserve better. This behavior is not representative of me or my administration in any way, and people will be held responsible for their actions."

The governor planned to appear in public to address the scandal later Thursday.

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