He told another businessman that he had to pay $50,000 to get approval for a karaoke club in Palisades Park.
NEWARK -- U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton looked at Chung Kho Monday in her courtroom and said she saw two men.
One, 69 years old, was a successful real estate developer and commercial property landlord who raised a loving, successful family and gave back to Korean communities in the metropolitan area.
The other was an admitted felon who facilitated a $50,000 bribe for another prospective business owner to get approval for a karaoke bar.
Considering those two lives and Kho's frail health -- the Fort Lee man suffers from diabetes and had to have a kidney transplant-- Wigenton spared Kho prison time, sentencing him to eight months of home confinement and five years of probation for arranging the bribe.
He admitted guilt before Wigenton in April.
The judge said Kho was "somewhat of a victim of corrupt officials," but that he contributed to the "culture" of corruption in the region by planning the bribe. "It seems like that has been somewhat of a practice in Palisades Park," she said.
Indeed, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacques Pierre said public corruption has become so routine in North Jersey that "it almost becomes a punch line."
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According to court records, Kho in 2010 was approached by a businessman who wanted to open a karaoke bar in a commercial building Kho owned on Broad Avenue in Palisades Park. The property would need the borough to grant a change of use to be used as a nightclub, and Kho told the businessman that he was close to a Palisades Park official who could use his influence to get approval, records said.
He told the prospective karaoke owner that he would have to pay a bribe of $50,000 to get municipal approvals, records said.
After objecting at first, the individual agreed to pay the bribe weeks later, but it was too late. Later that same day, municipal officials denied the change of use application, a criminal complaint says.
No one else has been charged in the incident, but an investigation is ongoing, said Matt Reilly, spokesman for U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.
Kho and his three adult children spoke in the courtroom Monday.
His children told Wigenton he was a good father who installed a hard-work ethic in them. They also spoke highly of a man who came to the United States after his parents were killed in the Korean War, worked hard for his family and volunteered in civic and Korean-community activities and his church.
Speaking through an interpreter, Kho was repentant. "I am so sorry," he said. "Please forgive me."
He said he would still like to do something to help society with whatever time he has left.
But Pierre said prosecutors thought some of that time should be in confinement. Bribery, he said, "leads to the exploitation of legitimate business people."
Wigenton reduced the sentencing range for Kho, noting his good works and poor health. She then sentenced him and imposed a fine equal to the bribe he facilitated -- $50,000.
Tim Darragh may be reached at tdarragh@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @timdarragh. Find NJ.com on Facebook.