A former Suffolk County employee has been sentenced to prison after admitting she accepted bribes and falsified licensing paperwork while working in a county office responsible for issuing licenses.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney announced that Brianna Hassett, 33, of Wading River, was sentenced on June 11 to 1½ to 3 years in state prison after pleading guilty to Attempted Bribe Receiving in the Third Degree.
According to prosecutors, Hassett was hired in June 2021 as an office assistant in the licensing unit of the Suffolk County Department of Labor, Licensing and Consumer Affairs.
The investigation found that in late January 2025, Hassett accepted a monetary bribe and falsified an application for a Suffolk County Home Improvement license while acting in concert with her husband, Esteban Bermudez.
Authorities said Hassett also accepted a separate cash bribe in exchange for providing questions and answers from the proficiency examination required to obtain a Suffolk County vocational license.
Prosecutors said Hassett admitted to participating in the scheme with Bermudez, who was not employed by Suffolk County. Both were arrested on February 13, 2025.
Hassett resigned from her county position on May 14, 2025.
She pleaded guilty on March 25, 2026, before Acting Supreme Court Justice Steven A. Pilewski to Attempted Bribe Receiving in the Third Degree, a Class E felony.
Bermudez pleaded guilty the same day to Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree. He was sentenced on May 27, 2026, to five years of probation.
At sentencing, Tierney said public corruption undermines confidence in government institutions.
“Public servants hold a position of trust, and any attempt to betray that trust through corruption strikes at the heart of fair and honest government,” Tierney said. “This office will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute those who seek to undermine our institutions through bribery or other corrupt acts.”
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said government employees who violate the public trust should be held accountable for their actions.
Hassett was sentenced as a prior felony offender. She was represented by attorney Michael Castro. Bermudez was represented by attorney Toni Marie Angeli.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Bureau Chief Laura de Oliveira and Bureau Chief Kevin Ward of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Public Corruption Bureau. The investigation was conducted by Deputy Sheriff Sergeant Matthew Matz of the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office.
Photo: SCPD
