A Brooklyn woman was indicted in federal court this week, accused of three counts of bribery of a Louisiana public official.
According to a press release from U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller, the grand jury indicted Diana Kutateladze, 37, on Wednesday. If convicted, she faces up to 15 years in prison on each count.
According to court documents, she allegedly offered money and other things of value - including a bottle of Patron Silver, a $100 gift card and $3,000 in online payments - to a public official to influence his official acts.
"It is alleged that those offered bribes were made to influence the public official to disregard federal immigration laws and recommend the release of immigration detainees. The public official who received these bribes reported them to his supervisors, which resulted in this investigation," the release states.
This case was investigated by Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR). It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Craig Bordelon and LaDonte Murphy, with assistance from Legal Assistants Tanya Broussard and Christy Angelle.
