NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bruce Springsteen was fined $500 on Wednesday after the rock 'n' roll legend pleaded guilty to a charge of consuming alcohol at a federally run New Jersey beach in November, and prosecutors dropped drunk driving and reckless driving charges.

Springsteen, 71, whose songs have chronicled life in his home state of New Jersey and its shore scene for more than 50 years, entered his plea in an online arraignment before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Anthony Mautone in Newark.

He admitted to downing "two small shots of tequila" on Nov. 14 at Sandy Hook beach, part of the National Park Service's Gateway National Recreation Area, where alcohol consumption is prohibited.

Mautone, who said attorneys had agreed to settle the case before the hearing, also imposed $40 in fees, and then asked the rock star how long he would need to pay the $540 total.

“I think I can pay that immediately, your honor,” said Springsteen, seated next to his lawyer, Mitchell Ansell.

"I think you can, but I don't want to compel you to do so,” said the judge.“I'm going to give you a week to get this done."

Ansell issued a statement after the hearing saying that Springsteen was "pleased" with the outcome, noting that prosecutors could not prove the more serious charges and that his client had no previous criminal record.

The November arrest, which had gone unnoticed until it was first reported by celebrity news website TMZ on Feb. 10, came after a park officer said he saw Springsteen take a shot from a 750 ml bottle of tequila and then and mount his Triumph motorcycle.

Prosecutors told the court that the ban on alcohol consumption at Sandy Hook first went into effect last summer. The beach extends into the Atlantic just south of New York City and is about 10 miles (16 km) from Springsteen's home.

Springsteen also faced the more serious charges of reckless driving and driving while intoxicated. But Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Baker said he was dropping both of them.

Baker said prosecutors could not prove the reckless driving case and noted that Springsteen's 0.02% blood alcohol level was far below the state limit, even though the incident occurred on federal property.

Mautone said he agreed, adding that "I can't imagine that I would be persuaded that the government could sustain this burden of proof.”

The judge also revealed that since 1973 Springsteen's record shows only three driving violations, one of which involved use of a cellphone and the other two "aren't even violations."

Springsteen most recently came to the public eye in a Super Bowl advertisement on Feb. 7 in which he spoke of reuniting a divided America in a two-minute video titled "The Middle" sponsored by Jeep. Spotify also launched a podcast this week called "Renegades: Born in the USA" featuring Springsteen and former President Barack Obama.

After news of his arrest became public, Jeep said it stopped running the ad until more was known about the incident.

 

(Reporting by Peter Szekely in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)