RIVERHEAD - Former Suffolk County Legislator Wayne Prospect was remanded Friday to begin serving 2½ to 7½ year sentence in state prison for his 2006 conviction on bribe receiving and conspiracy charges.

Prospect, 58, of 40 Seward Drive in Dix Hills, and his codefendant, Stephen Baranello, 48, of Medford, were arrested by Suffolk district attorney detectives on April 22, 2004.

The former lawmaker, who was defeated in his 1989 reelection bid, was working as a public relations consultant at the time of his arrest. 

Prospect was convicted of receiving cash bribes and conspiring with Baranello, an official with Suffolk Off-Track Betting, in a scheme to supply county bid information to an undercover detective posing as a contractor.

Jurors listened to recordings of wiretapped phone calls and watched surveillance video of the defendant accepting cash in a diner during the eight-week trial.

In April of this year, the appellate division of the second department rejected Prospect’s appeal of the guilty verdict.

Defense attorney Christopher Cassar asked State Supreme Court Justice Robert Doyle to dismiss a pending tax evasion indictment against Prospect.  Judge Doyle directed Cassar to file his motion with the court this Tuesday, October 7.     

Baranello, the son of the late Dominic Baranello, the former Suffolk Democratic leader, pleaded guilty to one count of bribe receiving and one charge of fourth degree conspiracy and testified at trial against Prospect. During his plea, Baranello admitted he and Prospect demanded a $5,000 per month retainer and 20 percent of the county contract’s value from the man they believed to be a building contractor.