Former Suffolk Employee Admits Taking Bribes In License Scheme: DA

SMITHTOWN, NY — A former Suffolk County employee from Wading River has pleaded guilty to a felony in a public corruption case in which prosecutors said she accepted cash bribes and falsified license paperwork while working in the county’s Department of Labor, Licensing and Consumer Affairs in Smithtown.

Brianna Hassett, 33, pleaded guilty Wednesday, March 25, to third-degree attempted bribe receiving, a Class E felony, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

According to prosecutors, Hassett was working as an office assistant in the licensing unit of the Suffolk County Department of Labor, Licensing and Consumer Affairs in late January 2025 when she accepted a cash bribe and falsified an application for a home improvement license.

Prosecutors said Hassett acted in concert with her husband, Esteban Bermudez, 35, in carrying out the scheme.

In exchange for a separate cash bribe, Hassett also provided questions and answers to the proficiency exam required for Suffolk County to issue a vocational license, according to the DA’s office.

Hassett and Bermudez were both arrested on Feb. 13. Hassett resigned from her county job on May 14, 2025, prosecutors said.

On the same day Hassett entered her guilty plea, Bermudez also pleaded guilty, this time to first-degree offering a false instrument in the first degree, the DA said.

Hassett appeared before Acting Supreme Court Justice Steven Pilewski for her plea. She is due back in court for sentencing on May 27, 2026, when she is expected to receive 1 1/2 to 3 years in prison, prosecutors said.

Bermudez is also scheduled to be sentenced on May 27. Prosecutors said he is expected to receive 5 years of probation.

Court records list Michael Castro as Hassett’s attorney and Toni Marie Angeli as Bermudez’s attorney. Neither of whom was immediately available for a request for comment.

“This defendant’s conduct constitutes an egregious and systematic breach of public trust, as she placed her own greed above her responsibilities as a public official,” Tierney said. “My office will continue to have zero tolerance for corruption within any government agency or department.”