Wading River woman arrested for alleged bribery
A Wading River woman was arrested and charged Tuesday with alleged bribery and falsifying business records after allegedly accepting bribes and falsifying paperwork for a license application while working as licensing and consumer affairs employee at the Suffolk County Department of Labor.
According to the district attorney’s office, Brianna Hassett, 33, was working as an office assistant in department’s licensing unit when she — and Esteban Bermudez, 35, of Hampton Bays, who is not a Suffolk County employee — allegedly accepted a bribe and falsified an application for a home improvement license.
In exchange for the cash bribe, Ms. Hassett allegedly provided questions and answers to the proficiency exam required for the issuance of a vocational license in Suffolk County, the DA’s office wrote in a Tuesday news release. She also allegedly falsified insurance information on a license application in exchange for a second cash bribe.
Ms. Hassett and Mr. Bermudez were arrested on Feb. 13.
“The allegations in this case represent a shocking violation of the public trust, as this defendant is accused of placing her own greed ahead of her duty as a public servant,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said in the news release. “My office will not tolerate corruption in any government agency or department.”
Ms. Hassett was arraigned Feb. 14 for bribe receiving, falsifying business records, offering a false instrument for filing and official misconduct before acting county Judge Edward Hennessey.
Judge Hennessey ordered Ms. Hassett to be monitored by the Department of Probation’s pre-trial supervision unit during the pendency of the case. She was released from jail without bail as “her charges are considered non-bail-eligible under current New York State law, meaning prosecutors cannot ask for, and judges cannot set, bail,” the news release stated.
She is due back in court on March 12 and faces three and a half to seven years in prison if convicted on the top count. She is being represented by Brian Trodden of Castro & Trodden LLC.
Mr. Bermudez was issued a desk appearance ticket and his arraignment date is March 5. He faces 16 months to four years in prison if convicted on the top count.
“Thousands of county employees work hard every day to serve the public with the highest of integrity,” Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said in the news release. “When someone is found to have violated the trust of the public and their colleagues, my administration will not hesitate to work with the district attorney to have them prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The District Attorney’s Office invites anyone who believes they may have been victimized by Ms. Hassett to call 631-853-4626.
