Copiague man pleads guilty to bribing NYC crane inspector

The manager of a Copiague crane company faces 2 to 6 years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to bribing New York City's chief crane inspector.

Michael Sackaris, 50, of St. James, pleaded guilty in State Supreme Court in Manhattan to bribing inspector James DeLayo, paying him more than $10,000 between 2000 and 2008 to clear uninspected cranes or certify operators who had not taken required exams. Sackaris pleaded guilty to bribery in the second degree.

Nu Way Crane Services Llc, the Copiague company owned by Sackaris' wife, will pay $10,000, according to the terms of a plea agreement read in court by Supreme Court Justice Thomas Farber.

Nu Way employee Michael Pascalli, 25, of Bethpage, was certified as an operator without taking an exam. He agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor of filing a false instrument and will get probation.

The lawyers for Sackaris and Nu Way, Ronald Russo and Charles Horn, said all of Nu Way's cranes were ultimately inspected and have passed. None were implicated in any accidents.

Sentencing was set for July.