U.S. Consular Official Sentenced to Jail for Receiving Bribes

Michael T. Sestak, photo via The Times Union

Michael T. Sestak, a former U.S. consular official, has been sentenced to a little over 5 years for receiving more than $3 million in bribes to process nonimmigrant visas.

Sestak pled guilty back in November 2013 (after a May 2013 arrest) but has only now been sentenced. He’s been in custody all this time, cooperating with the government’s investigation of co-conspirators.

Sestak had been the Nonimmigrant Visa Chief for the U.S. consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Between August 2010 to September 2012, Sestak approved nonimmigrant visas in exchange for payments of between $15,000 and $70,000. Sestak used his portions of the profits to purchase real estate in Thailand.

Interestingly, Sestake was a former Albany police officer and Navy intelligence officer.

-KitJ