AKRON, Ohio -- The man who once made multibillion-dollar investment decisions for the state was sent to prison Wednesday by a federal judge.

Former Bureau of Workers Compensation Chief Financial Officer Terrence Gasper was sentenced in Akron federal court to five years and four months in prison.

The judge also ordered Gasper to pay the state $60,405 in restitution. Prosecutors said that was the value of the bribes he received.

Gasper had admitted he accepted bribes from people seeking business with the bureau.

He could have received 20 years behind bars, but his sentence was reduced in return for cooperation in the investigations of several other people.

One of those who sought business with the state, Clarke Blizzard, was recently sentenced to three years and one month in prison. Blizzard admitted to conspiring to bribe Gasper.

In court Wednesday, Gasper called his actions “boneheaded.”

“It was never my intention to commit a crime. I never solicited or requested anything from anyone. My boneheaded criminal decisions lie in accepting what was offered to me,” Gasper said.

Jim.otte@whiotv.com