Three Sentenced in Bribery of Navy Employees
Three companies and three people were fined Monday for giving illegal gratuities to workers at the Navy Public Works Center so they would steer business to the firms.
Jacob Lubarsky, 52, owner of Las Palmas Distributors of Escondido, which did repair and maintenance work on Navy refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment, and his company were both fined $5,000.
Federal District Judge J. Lawrence Irving ordered Lubarsky to perform 120 hours of community service works under terms of his three years’ probation.
Harold Levine, 32, who formerly worked for Polytech Industries of Los Angeles, received a 60-day sentence in a halfway house, and he will be required to perform 200 hours of community service.
Levine was the only defendant to receive any time in custody, and Irving said he could surrender later. Polytech Industries received a $9,000 fine.
John Johnson, 44, and Jeyco Products, both of San Diego, were fined $5,000. Irving ordered Johnson to perform 60 hours of community service work under conditions imposed on his two-year probation.
The firms and the individuals all pleaded guilty to giving unlawful gratuities.
Lubarsky said to the judge: “I’m truly sorry this happened. It’s wrong. I’ve never done this before. It turned my whole life in a negative way.”
Lubarsky and his Escondido company were indicted Oct. 24 by a federal grand jury, which accused him and the firm of conspiring to defraud the government and with bribery of Navy officials. Johnson and Jeyco Products were indicted Sept. 19, and Levine and Polytech Industries were charged Aug. 29.
They are believed to have offered television sets, trips to Hawaii, microwave ovens and videocassette recorders to the Navy Public Works Center employees to induce them to recommend their companies for work, said Assistant U.S. Atty. George Hardy.
Lubarsky, Levine and Johnson could have received a maximum two-year prison sentence on the illegal gratuities count.
Hardy said the Navy employees who received the bribes were also prosecuted in federal court, on misdemeanor counts of receiving unlawful gratuities.
