A former high-ranking employee of the Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corp. (NWCDC) was sentenced today to 96 months in prison for accepting $956,948 in kickback payments for his and the former executive director’s assistance in awarding work to contractors, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.

Donald Bernard Sr., 69, of West Orange, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jose Linares to Counts 9 and 10 of a 20-count indictment returned in December 2014, charging him with the use of interstate facilities to promote and facilitate bribery in violation of the Travel Act, and Count 1 of an information that charges him with making and subscribing a false personal tax return for the 2009 tax year. Judge Linares imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.