A federal judge in Manhattan yesterday cleared his docket of one oil-for-food case even as he readied his courtroom for another trial stemming from the corrupt U.N.-run program.

In a decision released yesterday afternoon, Judge Denny Chin of U.S. District Court in Manhattan upheld charges by federal prosecutors alleging that a Texas oilman, a British businessman, and others had illegally paid the Iraq government kickbacks for participating in the U.N. oil-for-food program. A trial date has not yet been set.

Later in the day, Judge Chin imposed a relatively strict five-year sentence on an elderly South Korean businessman who last year was the first person to be tried in America on oil for food-related charges.

The jury found that the businessman, Tongsun Park, had served as an unregistered agent on Iraq’s behalf as Saddam Hussein sought greater influence over the oil-forfood program. Prosecutors said Park had sold his access to Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali to Iraq for millions of dollars. He was convicted on conspiracy charges.

Judge Chin described the sentence he was handing down on Park, who is 71 and in poor health, as “harsh,” according to the Associated Press. The five-year jail term will be followed by three years of supervised release.

Also, as part of the sentence, Park must return $1.2 million to America. Prosecutors say the money is likely to be placed in a U.N. account for development in Iraq.

“You acted out of greed, acted to profit out of what was supposed to be a humanitarian program,” Judge Chin said, according to the AP.

The oil-for-food program, begun in the 1990s, exempted Iraqi oil from U.N.-imposed economic sanctions against the country. The proceeds of the oil were supposed to be spent on food and medicine.

Park did not address the court about his crimes. His defense at trial was that he was seeking to improve the plight of Iraqis living under the reign of Saddam Hussein.

Park was also charged in the 1970s with trying to buy influence in Congress as part of the “Koreagate” scandal.

In the related decision, Judge Chin upheld charges against six individuals and several companies accused of paying Saddam’s government kickbacks in order to buy Iraqi oil. Among the defendants is a Texas oilman and the owner of a Bahamas-based oil company.

Judge Chin did dismiss one set of charges against the oil company, Bayoil Supply and Trading, ruling that as a foreign company, it was not bound by American law on prohibited transactions against Iraq.

Significantly, Judge Chin rejected the argument of the Texas oilman, Oscar Wyatt, who had accused federal prosecutors of targeting him for his opposition in the 1990s to America’s foreign policy against Iraq. Long involved in the Iraq oil trade, Mr. Wyatt opposed embargoes against Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait. Judge Chin ruled that Mr. Wyatt had offered no evidence to support his allegation of selective prosecution.