GUTTENBERG AND BEYOND - Vincent Tabbachino, a former Guttenberg councilman and police officer, was sentenced Friday in Newark federal court to 41 months in prison for attempted extortion and bribery, as well as laundering approximately $125,000 he believed were criminal proceeds, according to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office.

According to the release, Tabbachino, 70, of Fairview, admitted to meeting with FBI informant Solomen Dwek in August 2008. Dwek was part of a statewide FBI sting into political corruption in which Dwek, posing as a developer, offered various politicians money for their campaigns in exchange for help with his projects. However, in the case of Tabbachino, according to the release, "Dwek had told Tabbachino that the funds he sought to launder were the proceeds of a counterfeit handbag company."

According to the release, Tabbachino admitted that in Feb. 2009, he agreed to launder and conceal Dwek's funds through a business account of his company, Tabbachino Associates, in exchange for a 10 percent fee. Tabbachino admitted to engaging in four transactions -- one for $50,000 and three for $25,000 each, according to the release. -- Stephen LaMarca