A crooked former city housing official who hoped to avoid the clink by testifying against three pals who were eventually acquitted at trial was slapped with a three-year prison term Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court.
Former Assistant Commissioner of Housing Preservation and Development Wendell Walters eagerly cooperated with the feds in trying to nail three developers charged with showering him with bribes.
But the accused men — Stevenson Dunn, Lee Hymowitz and Michael Freeman — beat their raps, and now Walters will be the only one doing time.
The former Iona College basketball player, who admitted taking $2.5 million in bribes, lobbied Judge Nina Gershon for community service and cited his cooperation with feds as grounds for mercy.
“I ruined my life and only have myself to blame,” the married father of two young boys said in front of nearly a dozen tense supporters.
Walters, 52, made it a point to apologize directly to his former colleagues at HPD for staining the agency’s image.
“I’m incredibly sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry to the people that I let down . . . I know my bad acts overshadowed all the work they do day in and day out.”
He pleaded guilty to racketeering and corruption in 2012 and later testified that he took everything from bags of cash to exotic vacations in exchange for awarding city housing contracts.
Walters began weeping when discussing the impact of a potential jail term on his young family.
“I’m overwhelmed with feelings of shame at how my actions have put them all in jeopardy,” he said. “The thought of not being with them is unbearable.”
His attorney, Howard Leader, suggested that the impact of imprisonment on his client’s young children would be especially devastating because they’re black.
“I think we owe them a debt of special care,” he said. “To imprison Mr. Walters would be to waste a wonderful opportunity. I ask you to give him a second chance.”
In brief remarks, prosecutor Daniel Spector said that Walters’ cooperation was significant and that he should be sentenced below the federal guidelines range of 14 to 17 years in prison.
Gershon rejected the request for community service and cited the nearly 10-year duration of the scheme in dishing out prison time.
“There’s no question that there’s more than one side to Mr. Walters — but I can’t find these crimes to be aberrations when they lasted so long,” she said.