Former Trump Org CFO Weisselberg sentenced to five months in Rikers Island jail

The former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg, was sentenced Tuesday to five months in New York City's infamous Rikers Island jail.

New York Judge Juan Manuel Merchan sentenced Weisselberg, 75, to five months in jail in line with the plea deal to which he agreed, according to the Associated Press. He is expected to serve his time at the Rikers Island jail and will be eligible to be released on good behavior after slightly more than three months. 

Weisselberg faced up to 15 years in prison but entered a plea deal in August in which he pleaded guilty to 15 tax crimes and agreed to testify against the Trump Organization, which was found guilty last month of tax fraud. He also agreed to complete five years of probation and pay nearly $2 million in taxes and penalties.

Weisselberg prepared for his sentence at Rikers with prison consultant Craig Rothfeld, who spent more than five weeks at the jail as part of an 18-month sentence for fraud, Reuters reported.

Rothfeld said he hopes that Weisselberg will be kept separate from the more than 5,900 inmates there. Weisselberg has worked closely with Trump since 1986, and his experience may make his time in jail more difficult.

"Certainly Mr. Weisselberg's 50-year relationship with the former president is on all our minds," Rothfeld said. He said he advised his client to not go outside into the courtyards at Rikers due to the risk of violence. 

The jail is slated to close in 2027.