The former top attorney for the Cleveland area's sewage agency has been sentenced to five years, 10 months in prison for pursuing thousands of dollars in bribes.

Sixty-4-year-old William Schatz admitted shaking down a contractor for more than $682,000 and diverting about $167,000 in agency checks to his accounts.

The federal judge in Cleveland who sentenced Schatz on Tuesday also ordered him to pay back the money and gave him two years of supervised release.

Schatz resigned in 2007 from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District. He pleaded guilty in May to bribery, theft and tax fraud.

He could have received more than seven years in prison. His attorneys had asked for mercy, noting his age and statements he made expressing remorse.