SAN DIEGO —  A New York financier has been sentenced in San Diego to more than eight years in federal prison for laundering bribes for former Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham.

A tearful Thomas Kontogiannis (kon-TAH-jee-ah-nis) apologized and pleaded for leniency Friday, but District Judge Larry Burns ordered him to serve eight years and one month in prison. Prosecutors wanted the maximum 10-year sentence.

The 59-year-old pleaded guilty to money laundering in February 2007. He recently had quintuple-bypass surgery in New York, which delayed sentencing.

Cunningham is serving eight years and four months in prison for taking $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors in exchange for government contracts. The former lawmaker from San Diego pleaded guilty in 2005.

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