Brooklyn businessman Alex “Shaya” Lichtenstein, who admitted to bribing NYPD cops for expedited gun permits, was sentenced in Manhattan Federal Court on Thursday afternoon to only 2.6 years.
Lichtenstein had pled guilty to two counts of bribing officers in the NYPD’s licensing division to expedite handgun permits between 2013 and up until this past summer.
Under his plea deal, federal prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence in the range of 57 to 71 months. Instead, Lichtenstein got 22 months and 2 years probation.
Lichtenstein secured more than 150 pistol permits for people by bribing NYPD officers working in the Licensing Division. The bribes were covered by fees of $10,000 or more paid by clients who got their applications to carry a handgun approved in two months or less.
Typically, applications can take up to a year to process.
