Former Flushing Assemblyman Jimmy Meng pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday to bribery charges, according to published reports.
Meng was held for eliciting an $80,000 payoff to ease charges against associate Eric Hu, who faced tax charges.
The 68-year-old admitted to asking for the money in a fruit basket, which he promised to pass along to prosecutors to buy Hu a more lenient sentence.
Meng, the first Asian elected to the state Legislature, admitted to Judge Allyne Ross he intended to “keep the money,” according to Bloomberg news.
According to the criminal complaint, Meng told Hu, “You can never say in the future that Jimmy Meng helped me find people.”
The former elected official also promised Hu a refund if his sentence surpassed two years in jail, except for a $2,000 errand fee.
“I’ll be responsible. If [sic] didn’t get it done for you, right? Over three years, right? Over two years, right? Then just charge you $2,000 — $2,000 for running errands and the rest — I take responsibility.”
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