Kasia Rivera, 38, of East Orange, was sentenced on Monday to five years in state prison in connection with the May 2011 death of Justin Street, 22, also of East Orange
NEWARK — Before Kasia Rivera was sentenced on Monday to five years in state prison for conducting a fatal penis enlargement procedure in 2011, her attorney, Olubukola Adetula, said she has "accepted responsibity for her actions" and wanted to "move on with the rest of her life."
Essex County Assistant Prosecutor William Neafsey, however, said Rivera may want to move on with her life, but "we still have a man that died."
"A man died because of her recklessness," said Neafsey, adding that "she had no business sticking needles into anyone, specifically sticking a needle into a man's penis."
Rivera, 38, of East Orange, received the five-year prison term after having pleaded guilty on Sept. 8 to a reckless manslaughter charge in connection with the May 2011 death of Justin Street, 22, also of East Orange. Prosecutors recommended the five-year sentence under a plea deal.
Under the sentence handed down by Superior Court Judge John Zunic, Rivera must serve slightly more than four years before becoming eligible for parole. She will receive credit for nearly eight months of time served.
Rivera declined to make a statement during Monday's hearing.
MORE: N.J. woman pleads guilty in penis enlargement death
In pleading guilty, Rivera admitted to injecting silicone into Street's penis when he visited her home on Glenwood Avenue in East Orange. The silicone was not the kind used in medical procedures, authorities said.
Authorities have said the injection shot directly into Street's bloodstream, shutting down his organs, and he died as a result the following day. A medical examiner later determined Street died from a silicone embolism, and his death was ruled a homicide, authorities said.
At the time of her guilty plea, Rivera acknowledged she was not trained as a medical doctor and she was neither trained nor licensed to administer the silicone injection.
Rivera, who had worked as a bartender in Irvington, could be deported to her native Jamaica as a result of her guilty plea, authorities said.
During Monday's hearing, Adetula noted how Rivera had been cooperative in the investigation. Adetula said Rivera surrendered to the police when she knew authorities were looking for her, and she provided a statement to detectives about her role in the incident.
Rivera had been preparing to go on trial in May, but the trial was postponed due to alleged jury tampering while jury selection was under way.
At that time, three jurors said they were approached on May 8 by a man associated with Rivera about influencing the outcome of the trial. Two of the jurors said they were offered bribes of $5,000.
One of those two jurors said he gave his phone number to the man and later received three calls from a woman whom he believed to be Rivera.
At a May 12 hearing, Superior Court Judge Ronald Wigler heard those allegations while interviewing 20 prospective jurors individually. The judge then dismissed all of the jurors from serving on the trial.
Wigler found Rivera was complicit in the attempt to improperly influence the potential jury, revoked her bail and remanded her to the Essex County Correctional Facility.
When she pleaded guilty on Sept. 8, Rivera said she did not participate in the alleged tampering scheme.
Rivera claimed the man, whom she described as a friend, had acted alone in approaching the jurors, and that she didn't ask him to approach the jurors or encourage him to do so.
While the case was still pending, Rivera also was charged in unrelated cases with possession of a stun gun and injecting silicone into another woman's buttocks and breasts up to four times. Under the plea agreement, the charges related to those cases have been dismissed.
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.