Ex-exec: I took bribes from bounty hunter

Saturday, May 31, 2008
By MARGARET McHUGH
NEWHOUSE NEWS SERVICE

A former insurance company vice president faces a year in jail after admitting yesterday that he took $92,550 from a Jersey City bounty hunter for steering business to him.

Under his plea deal, John Sullivan will have to testify in the state's case against bounty hunter Adel Mikhaeil, who was arrested along with two other bounty hunters in January.

Sullivan pleaded guilty to commercial bribery in state Superior Court in Morristown. He admitted that as an officer of LeLos Insurance Co., formerly called Sirius American Inc., he accepted money from Mikhaeil in exchange for steering business to him and approving invoices without reviewing them. He accepted bribes between February 2006 and Nov. 30, 2007.

Insurance companies write policies for bail bondsmen that guarantee full bail will be paid if a defendant skips out. To avoid these payments, some hire bounty hunters to bring fugitives back.

Sullivan also admitted he let a person involved in prostitution deposit proceeds from that illegal business into his bank account between January 2003 and October 2007. Sullivan then would issue checks to the person, identified as Shen Jian Lin in court papers.

Sullivan was first charged with the offenses of commercial bribery and financial facilitation for criminal activity on Thursday. He is scheduled to be sentenced July 10.