A Bronx contractor who is being investigated in the massive East Village gas explosion that killed two and injured 20 was sentenced to probation Monday in an unrelated bribery case.
Dilber Kukic, 40, copped to felony bribery in October in exchange for three years probation, 200 hours of community service and a $4,000 fine as part of a plea deal.
The contractor admitted to paying an undercover investigator $600 last year to dismiss building violations at two properties he owned on West 173rd Street in Washington Heights.
Justice Marcy Kahn handed down the promised sentence with a gentle reprimand. “This was a bad mistake and you’re ending up with a felony conviction,” she said. “This is not a way of doing business in the city of New York. But I’m glad that you took responsibility for your actions.”
Kukic was a minor player in the 50-defendant case involving the payment of $450,000 in bribes to building inspectors and other city workers in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.
Kahn had extended the no-jail offer over the objection of prosecutors who wanted no less than six months in jail.
Defense lawyer Mark Bederow had argued that the prosecutor’s hardline approach in the bribery case “results from the people’s ongoing investigation into the East Village explosion.”
Kukic was inside 121 Second Ave. on March 26, where he had a permit to do renovations, when the building exploded. He dragged the landlord’s son to safety.
Authorities suspect an illegal gas hookup caused the blast and subsequent fire that reduced several buildings to rubble.
Investigators are looking at potential murder charges and Kukic and five others are the prime suspects, The Post reported in April.
Bederow declined to comment on the investigation into the East Village explosion but said of the bribery case, “It is important to note that this matter had nothing to do with general contracting or safety violations.”