Fort Myers Radio: Trey Radel Resigns From Congress

Trey Radel

Freshman Republican Rep. Trey Radel of Florida said yesterday that he was resigning from Congress, just over two months after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of cocaine possession. (See original posting, Click Here)

The 37-year-old Gadel had been caught buying cocaine from an undercover officer in Washington at the end of October.

He was sentenced to a year of probation and went through a month-long, in-patient rehab program, returning to Congress last month and saying in a defiant news conference that he wasn't stepping down.

However, pressure had been building, with higher-ranking Republicans, including Florida Governor Rick Scott, calling on him to resign, a House ethics investigation started, and a growing group of primary race challengers ready to take him on.

He finally gave in, writing in a letter of resignation to House Speaker John Boehner yesterday, "While I have dealt with those issues on a personal level, it is my belief that professionally I cannot fully and effectively serve as a United States Representative to the place I love and call home, southwest Florida."

Radel is a former morning host at WFSX 92.9 FM in Fort Myers.