Here’s what happens when you don’t have the patience to wait for your gun permits to get processed and you want to try bribery instead.
A Brooklyn, New York, businessman and volunteer safety patrol member of an Orthodox Jewish patrol group named Alex Lichtenstein is facing four to six years for trying to bribe a cop. The 45-year-old Lichtenstein offered the cop $6,000 per gun license to get them through faster. He apparently told the cop that he had done this for 150 people in the past. So, THAT’s what kind of business man he is! Don’t try this at home folks!
On March 16, Lichtenstein was sentenced to nearly three years in prison. Lichtenstein also must forfeit $230,000 and pay a $20,000 fine. Prosecutors said he had earned between $150,000 and $200,000 from the scheme. Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell Capone said some people who obtained gun permits through Lichtenstein had criminal histories, including domestic violence, though none of the guns have apparently been traced to any crimes.
Because he was a volunteer safety patrol member, apparently, people began asking him to help them get their gun permits. Then, he began charging for the service. He charged $10,000 to $16,000 per application and used some of that money to pay police officers up to $1,000 for faster service. He also gave officers money and gifts. He blamed this criminal behavior on being addicted to alcohol, which made him make “terrible, terrible mistakes.”
