[FONT=Verdana]A demolition contractor who cooperated in a corruption probe of Waterbury CT city government has been sentenced to a year of probation after admitting he bribed former Waterbury Mayor Philip Giordano and another city official.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Louis Sachs, 33, of Orange, worked for Cherry Hill Construction of North Branford. He admitted giving $8,000 in cash and $500 worth of mulch to the city's former blight officer, Claudio Mancini, and providing a Dumpster and campaign contributions to Giordano.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]"I am extremely sorry for what I did," Sachs said in court Monday. "I, and only I, am responsible. I tried to make up for what I did over the last five years by cooperating in a 100 percent capacity."[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Giordano, who also ran as a Republican challenger to Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman in 2000, was never charged with bribe taking. He is serving a 37-year prison sentence for violating the civil rights of two young girls by sexually abusing them. FBI agents discovered the abuse while investigating allegations of corruption in the Giordano administration.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Sachs said he gave cash and other items in an attempt to win favorable treatment on city contracts. His company won nearly $600,000 in demolition work, including one deal in which bid documents were altered to make it look like Cherry Hill was the low bidder.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Besides probation, he was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and perform 200 hours of community service.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Verdana]Sach's attorney, William Dow III, has said his client was compelled to play by the illegal rules set up by the Giordano administration.[/FONT]
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