STATEN ISLAND -- Former Linden police officer Pedro Abad was sentenced to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison for driving drunk the wrong way on a highway leading to a head-on crash that killed two men.

Judge Mario F. Mattei imposed the sentence for the March 20, 2015 crash that left Linden police officer Frank Viggiano and Linden resident Joseph Rodriguez dead and critically injured former Linden officer Patrik Kudlac.

"You were a time bomb waiting to explode," Mattei told Abad, noting that the former officer had two prior drunk-driving crashes. "It was a matter of if, not when."

Under the sentence, Abad will be eligible for parole after 8 1/3 years, but will likely be denied, lawyers familiar with the case have said. Abad's attorney, Mario Gallucci, said he expects Abad will serve 16 or 17 years in prison.

Mattei, in his sentencing, said Abad's statements have always been about himself. The judge said Abad had sent a letter to him requesting that he be placed on probation or given a one-year sentence to demonstrate that even in prison he could be a good citizen.

"When I read that request, I realized you have no idea the magnitude of what you did," the judge told Abad.

Abad, now with short hair and no beard -- in stark contrast to his appearance during the trial -- gave a rambling 30-minute statement before he was sentenced, talking about his faith in God and about Viggiano and Rodriguez. He asked if he could turn to face the victim's families as he spoke, but the judge advised him to look forward.

"If it helps, try to be happy knowing they are literally here right now above us with God. They are happy. They want to see you happy," Abad said.

He repeatedly maintained that he has no memory from the night of the crash, which occurred after the men left the Staten Island strip club Curves, and Abad turned the wrong way onto the West Shore Expressway and crashed head-on into a tractor-trailer.

"I swear on my life and I swear to God that I don't remember any of this. ... I really am sorry," he said.

Abad said taking a plea deal, when he wasn't sure he committed the crime, would be like "looking God in the face and lying," and that he felt like a juror at his own trial, hearing the facts for the first time.

Abad also appeared to put some blame on the men who got in his car.

"We were four grown men," Abad said. "I did not, or I don't believe I did, force them to get in my car. If I was so belligerent, they should've taken an Uber home. They chose to get in my car."

He also had a message for Kudlac, saying he has called Kudlac several times, right after the crash and recently, but he does not pick up.

"We were best friends once," Abad said. "I was always there for you. Even when no one was, I always was. I'm proud of you. Know how much I care for you and wish you the absolute best."

Before Abad spoke, sisters of the two men who died gave statements, both struggling to speak through tears.

Roseann Rodriguez, Joseph Rodriguez' sister, said she has suffered depression and has withdrawn from friends after the crash. She said the loss of her brother continued to haunt her and her father.

"I hate you. I don't feel bad for you. I actually hope you die before it comes time for you to be released," Roseann Rodriguez said. "I saw God, too, and he told me his plan for you. He said you're going straight to hell."

Kathleen Viggiano, the sister of Frank Viggiano, asked Mattei to impose the maximum sentence. She said her brother was an intelligent man who often worked to help others.

"I can only hope Pedro can live with the knowledge he killed two men and that will be a prison sentence in itself," Kathleen Viggiano said.

Viggiano expressed a kind thought for Abad. "I hope God forgives you for what you have done," she said.

When it was his turn to speak, District Attorney Mark Palladino called Abad "a narcissistic, self-centered, reckless criminal," and showed photos from Abad's Instagram account saying he loved "recklessness" and "chaos."

"You are no hero. You are no inspiration. You're just a guy that got drunk at the strip club and killed two people," Palladino said. "You are an inspiration to nobody. You are a lesson on how not to live."

Gallucci asked the judge to consider Abad's life outside of his three drunk-driving crashes.

"Three days in 29 years and 343 days," Gallucci said, before mentioning several charitable causes Abad has donated money or time to, and the numerous letters written from those organizations to the judge.

Gallucci said Abad went to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and stopped drinking after the accident, except for one day when he and a friend went back to Central Park, the Roselle bar that he and Kudlac visited before going to the Staten Island strip club.

In court Wednesday, Roseann Rodriguez referred to that visit, saying, "How disrespectful was that for you to do to me, my family and the city."

Mattei, in his sentencing, criticized Abad for his comments. Abad said he was happy that Kudlac had found another job. Kudlac testified during the trail that he was starting a job at a hospital.

"I'm glad you're happy," Mattei said, "but I don't think Patrik Kudlac is happy with his situation in life right now. How anyone could stand here and use the term happy with regard to what happened to those three people, is beyond me."

The judge said Abad had never expressed any grief or remorse at the deaths of Viggiano and Rodriguez.

"For you to tell me that they are happy in heaven makes me wonder why they were in such a rush to get there. I don't think they were. They're there because of you. And I don't think they're happy about it," Mattei said. "You killed two men. Can you comprehend that?"

Mattei imposed the maximum sentence for each count of aggravated vehicular homicide, with all the sentences to run concurrently. Mattei also imposed sentences of charges aggravated vehicular assault, second-degree assault, and reckless endangerment, with all sentences to run concurrently, as required under New York State law.

Gallucci said that after the sentence was announced, Abad "was fine" and said to him, "I guess it's God's will that I go to jail and I do good there."

Palladino noted that in a pre-sentence report Abad said he plans to appeal the verdict.

Abad, in his comments, had actually praised the district attorneys for their work.

"Yes, it is against me, but you definitely did do a superb job. So, good job," he said. "I believe we are all related. We are all children of God. You are my brothers. God bless you, both."

Linden police Chief Jonathan Parham, in a statement issued after the sentencing, said, "Abad had his day in court, and whether he serves a year, or a hundred years, lives were forever altered on that day."

"We continue to pray for Frank and Joe, their families, and all those affected by this tragedy," Parham said.

The 29-year-old Abad was convicted in May of nine charges, including multiple counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, for the crash.

Viggiano, and Rodriguez, both 28, who were passengers in Abad's Honda Civic, were killed. Kudlac, then 23, was critically injured, as was Abad.

A toxicologist at Abad's trial said he had a blood-alcohol level of .24 - three times the legal limit - at the time of the crash.

Abad's attorney, Mario Gallucci, argued during the trial that the blood sample taken from Abad was tainted with medication he had received from emergency response personnel, and the blood-alcohol estimates were wrong.

Kudlac was later forced to resign from the police force because of his injuries, and Abad was fired because his injuries prevented him from returning to work.

Before his trial, Abad rejected Assistant District Attorney Mark Palladino's plea offer of a sentence of 7 to 21 years in prison.

Read more from today's sentencing on Twitter from @JessicaRemoNJ and @Tom_HaydonSL.

Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Jessica Remo may be reached at jremo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessicaRemoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.