CADMAN PLAZA EAST (AP) — A Brooklyn judge sentenced a Bronx man to nearly eight years behind bars for violating the embargo against Iran.

 

Richard Phillips was arrested in a sting operation last year after agreeing to ship carbon fiber to Iran through the Philippines. U.S. authorities say the fiber can be used in aerospace and nuclear projects.

 

The 54-year-old Phillips told a judge in federal court in Brooklyn on Thursday that he got mixed up in the phony scheme because he was desperate for money.

 

The head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New York, James Hayes, said the case showed authorities' determination to keep "sensitive technology from falling into the wrong hands and jeopardizing America's national security."