By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — A Manhattan malpractice lawyer charged with stealing more than $3 million in settlement money owed to his clients was sentenced on Friday to 2.5 to 7.5 years in prison.
Marc Bernstein, 56, a 28-year veteran attorney, pleaded guilty to not paying his clients the rightful amounts awarded to them on personal injury and malpractice claims.
"I was weak and I was foolish," said Bernstein before being taken away in handcuffs.
He was also ordered to pay $3.5 million in restitution, none of which has been repaid yet.
"The defendant is a predator with a law degree," Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. said in a statement.