NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - A contractor who conspired with a public official and the head of a nonprofit preschool program to get payments for services he never provided has been sentenced to nearly two years in federal prison.
Carnell Baskerville must also pay $176,175 in restitution under the 21-month sentence imposed Tuesday. The 51-year-old Linden man had pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges.
Federal prosecutors say Baskerville conspired with a Paterson Municipal Utilities Authority commissioner to get $146,500 between December 2014 and May 2015. They say Baskerville deposited the checks he received into his bank account and kicked back a significant percentage in cash to the commissioner.
In February 2014, Baskerville entered into a similar scheme with Robert Mays, the executive director of the Jersey City Childhood Development Center. Baskerville was paid $29,675 for a purported kitchen renovation project and split the proceeds with Mays.
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