NEW YORK -- The former chief executive of Computer Associates International Inc. was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $8 million on Thursday for hir role in a massive accounting fraud scandal at software company.

Sanjay Kumar, 44, had faced up to 20 years behind bars after pleading guilty in April to obstruction of justice and securities fraud charges at the company, which since has become known as CA Inc.

Prosecutor Eric Komitee said Kumar deserved severe punishment as the architect of an elaborate coverup that was "the most brazen in the modern era of corporate crime."

"I know that I was wrong and there was no excuse for my conduct," Kumar, who is also a co-owner of the New York Islanders hockey team, told the judge at his sentencing.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D6.