Peekskill Man Admits to Bribing Official

The Journal News is reporting today that Peekskill resident Michel Ajram, 50, has admitted to bribing local officials between 2004 and 2007. The article states that Ajram admitted to paying “thousands of dollars to an agent of a local government in connection with assistance that agent provided in the agent’s official capacity to Ajram with respect to obtaining certain real-estate properties,” according to court documents.

According to Terence Corcoran and Marcela Rojas’ News article: “court documents do not identify the local official or the real estate and a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan would not comment on the person’s identity or whether federal officials are investigating any Peekskill or Westchester County officials for accepting bribes.”

When reached for comment by Patch, County Legislator John Testa, former Mayor of Peekskill (2002-2007) said, “this is something I have no knowledge of and any process in this area is done openly and transparently.” Testa said he did not hear of the plea until the Journal News contacted him with the claim.

Read the entire story here on LoHud.com. Check Patch for updates as story unfolds.