3 Wedtech Ex-Officials Plead Guilty in Deal

Three former officials of the Wedtech Corp. pleaded guilty Tuesday to bribery and fraud charges in a deal with prosecutors.

The plea bargaining, under which prison sentences on similar state charges will run concurrently with federal prison terms, was accepted by state Justice Alfred Kleiman.

The former board chairman of the defense firm, Fred Neuberger, former president Anthony Guariglia, and former executive vice president Mario Moreno were released on their own recognizance by Kleiman.

Neuberger, 59, was charged with fraud in the sale of $30 million in Wedtech stock. Guariglia, 35, and Moreno, 45, were charged with paying more than $50,000 in bribes to former state National Guard chief Vito Castellano--also charged in the case--to gain his influence in helping to obtain congressional authorization and appropriation for research funds for Wedtech.

Castellano, who is cooperating with investigators, pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges. Another defendant, Bernard Ehrlich, a former National Guard general, pleaded innocent to bribery charges and was released on his own recognizance.