A federal criminal investigation into Torricelli was dropped in early 2002. In the summer of 2002, however, Torricelli received a formal letter of admonishment from the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics following an investigation into his alleged receipt of improper gifts from campaign donor David Chang. Chang had pleaded guilty to violating federal election laws. Torricelli apologized to voters for his behavior and delivered a speech in which he promised to take "'full personal responsibility'" for his actions. On September 30, 2002, Torricelli ended his 2002 re-election campaign after Republicans "successfully made the incumbent's ethics troubles -- stemming from illegal 1996 campaign donations and questionable gifts -- a campaign issue..." Shortly thereafter, the New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Democratic Party could legally replace Torricelli's name on the ballot with that of former U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg.