MOSCOW, February 7 (RIA Novosti) – A court in New York sentenced two Soviet-born conspirators for taking part in a scheme to bribe a state assemblyman, Long Island Newsday reported Friday.
Igor Belyansky and David Binman were sentenced to 20 and nine months in prison, respectively, for their roles in paying Bronx representative Eric Stevenson $20,000 to draft legislation to protect their network of care centers for senior citizens from competition.
The pair pleaded guilty last year in the case, one of a series of stings by local and federal investigators into corruption in New York.
Their co-defendants, Belyansky’s brother Rostislav and Igor Tsimerman, were earlier sentenced to 18 and 24 months imprisonment. The group has variously been identified by media as Ukrainian and Russian.
Another assemblyman, identified by local media as Nelson L. Castro, cooperated with police in recording conversations with Stevenson as part of a deal to avoid charges on an unrelated perjury case.
Stevenson was convicted on four counts of bribery, extortion and conspiracy to commit fraud last month after the jury deliberated for just 90 minutes. Sentencing is due in May.
He faces up to 55 years in prison.
