Rep. Trey Radel of Florida pleads guilty to cocaine charge
Video: Florida Rep. Trey Radel (R-Fla.) was arrested last month for buying cocaine. Here’s what you need to know about the freshman congressman.
Rep. Trey Radel (R-Fla.) pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine in D.C. Superior Court on Wednesday morning, admitting he had purchased the drug from an undercover officer in Dupont Circle last month.
Radel, a former TV broadcaster just 10 months into his first term in Congress, was sentenced by Judge Robert S. Tignor to one year of probation on the misdemeanor charge. Radel will undergo treatment in Florida, and he said he is also seeking counseling in the District.
Read the documents
Rep. Trey Radel's court papers
Court documents relating to the Florida congressman's arrest for cocaine possession.
Radel apologized in court, saying, “I hit a bottom, and I realize I need help.” If Radel completes probation, he won’t have a conviction on his record, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
So far, Radel has given no indication that he will resign his office. The House’s GOP leadership has made only terse statements on the case, saying the matter should be left to the courts, Radel and his family.
Radel, 37, has stood out in Congress for his hyper, gregarious manner and his willingness to challenge veteran legislators in efforts to cut spending. This past summer, he won a small but surprising victory on the House floor, rallying members to cut theNational Sheep Industry Improvement Center, a seemingly immortal spending program.
But, authorities said, during Radel’s short time in Washington, he had also made a connection to the city’s drug trade. Charging documents say he purchased cocaine in the nation’s capital on several occasions.
It was a remarkable double life, built in record time. Radel was on the radar of both the Capitol press corps and the Drug Enforcement Administration before Congress took its Thanksgiving break.
And then the double life unraveled just as quickly.
On the evening of Oct. 29, authorities said, Radel and an acquaintance met an undercover agent at a restaurant in Dupont Circle about 10 p.m.
Radel invited the friend and agent to his home to use cocaine, according to court papers. The agent declined. But then they moved to the agent’s car, where Radel purchased 3.5 grams of cocaine. The sale price was $250, the documents said.
For some reason, the congressman overpaid. He handed over $260.
And that was it.
After the transaction, officers approached the car and Radel dropped the drugs on the street. Then, court papers said, he asked the officers to come to his apartment to discuss the incident.
When officers went to the residence, authorities said, they found a vial containing cocaine.
“I am so sorry to be here,” Radel said Wednesday. “I have let my constituents, my country and my family down. I want to come out of this stronger and I intend to do that, to be a better man, a better husband and continue serving this country.”
Radel grew up in Cincinnati, driving a hearse and hosting visitations at the family funeral home. He is married to former TV journalist Amy Wegmann Radel. They have a young son.
Radel won election by a wide margin last fall, taking a seat left open when longtime Rep. Connie Mack (R) ran for the Senate.
“I believe that in extraordinary times of crisis, ordinary men and women have to stand up and take action,” he told Florida’s Naples Daily News last year.