Report: Contractor with ties to deadly East Village explosion receives probation in unrelated case

Contractor Dilber Kukic, who's under investigation in the deadly Second Avenue explosion, was sentenced to probation today in an unrelated bribery case.

As the Post reports, Kukic, 40, "copped to felony bribery in October ​in ​exchange for three years probation, 200 hours of community service and a $4,000 fine as part of a plea deal."

He reportedly admitted to paying an undercover investigator $600 last year to dismiss building violations at properties he owns on West 173rd Street.

Defense lawyer Mark Bederow had argued that the prosecutor’s hardline approach in the bribery case “results from the people’s ongoing investigation into the East Village explosion.”

Kukic was inside 121 Second Ave​. on March 26, where he had a permit to do renovations, when the building exploded. He dragged the landlord’s son to safety.

Bederow declined to comment on the status of the Second Avenue explosion investigation, according to the Post. Authorities have said that an illegally tapped gas line at 121 Second Ave. may have caused the fatal blast.

The Post reported in April that investigators have "six prime suspects" in the blast at 121 Second Ave.: Landlord Maria Hrynenko, her son Michael Jr., Kukic as well as an unidentified subcontractor and two workers.