Wanted drug tests for welfare recipients, GOP lawmaker caught in coke sting Florida Congressman Henry "Trey" Radel pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour charge of possession of cocaine in D.C. Superior Court on Wednesday and was sentenced to one year of probation. Mr. Radel, 37, a Republican who was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives last year with the backing of the conservative Tea Party movement, was charged after buying 3.5 grams of cocaine in Washington's Dupont Circle neighbourhood on Oct. 29 in the presence of an undercover agent, the government said. "I've hit a bottom where I realize I need help," Mr. Radel told the judge. He appears to be the first sitting member of Congress charged with a drug offence since former representative Frederick Richmond, a New York Democrat, was convicted in 1982 on charges of tax evasion and drug possession. "Your honor, I apologize for what I've done," Mr. Radel told Judge Robert Tignor during the sentencing hearing. In an earlier statement, Mr. Radel said his "struggles with alcoholism" had led him to make an "extremely irresponsible choice." I am so sorry to be here. I know I have let my constituents down, my country down and, most importantly, my family, including my wife and my 2-year-old, who doesn't know it yet," Radel told Tignor in court. Radel added that he would enter a drug treatment program in Florida. After his court appearance, Mr. Radel did not respond to reporters" shouted questions about whether he intended to resign from the House of Representatives. The case against Mr. Radel stemmed from an investigation by Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration agents into cocaine trafficking in the Washington area, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nihar Mohanty said. Today's guilty plea emerges from a broader narcotics investigation that brought to light information that a sitting member of Congress was routinely using and buying cocaine," U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen Jr. said in a statement. Court papers indicate that Mr. Radel, who has described himself on Twitter as a "hip-hop conservative," met an acquaintance and an undercover officer at a Dupont Circle restaurant at 10 p.m. on Oct. 29. Radel and told the pair that he had cocaine in his apartment, the court documents say, and he invited them to the apartment to share the drug. They declined, and the undercover agent offered to sell Mr. Radel more cocaine, the papers say. Radel agreed and gave them $260. After they retrieved the cocaine from the acquaintance's vehicle, Mr. Radel was approached by officers and dropped the cocaine on the ground. He then invited them to his apartment and surrendered another vial of cocaine, the court papers say. Mr. Radel "s attorney, David Schertler, asked for six months of probation for Radel, who under Washington, D.C., law faced up to 180 days in prison and a fine of up to $1,000 (U.S.). Judge Robert Tignor ordered him to pay a $250 fine and serve one year of probation, a typical sentence for a first offender in Washington. If Mr. Radel had been caught in his home state of Florida buying an equal amount of cocaine he could have faced felony charges that might have resulted in a prison sentence. However, first-time offenders like Radel "are generally allowed to participate in a Drug Court, where they receive outpatient treatment for a year and then the charges are dismissed," said David Weinstein, a former Florida state prosecutor. Schertler said that Radel had been in out-patient treatment in Washington, and would enter an in-patient facility in Naples, Florida. In Collier County, Florida, which Mr. Radel represents in Congress, Democrats called for his resignation and accused him of hypocrisy for, among other things, opposing the legalization of medical marijuana and advocating drug testing for welfare recipients. "Congressman Trey Radel's conduct is an embarrassment to his district and to the state of Florida," Scott Arceneaux, executive director of the Florida Democratic Party, said in a statement. Lenny Curry, chairman of Florida's Republican Party, said, "I'm deeply disappointed in Congressman Radel's choices. I am glad that he is seeking help. With a report from Associated Press