Marine Base Godfather Gets 2 Years

SAN DIEGO (CN) – The self-described “godfather” of U.S. Marine Base Camp Pendleton was sentenced Friday to 2 years in prison for taking $107,000 in bribes for construction and service contracts.     Natividad Lara “Nate” Cervantes, 64, of San Diego, was ordered to surrender to prison by Sept. 30, and to cough up $106,964 in ill-gotten gains. Cervantes, who is free on bond, pleaded guilty in January to bribery and conspiring to bribe a public official.     “Nate Cervantes used his considerable influence and popularity at Camp Pendleton to foster a culture of corruption among contractors at the military base,” U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy said in a statement after Cervantes was sentenced.