Christopher St. Lawrence's fall from grace became complete Wednesday when a federal judge sentenced the former Ramapo town supervisor to 30 months in prison and a $75,000 fine for fraud involving the financing of his pet project,the town's $58 million baseball stadium.

The 67-year-old St. Lawrence sat stoically as U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel meted out her sentence at the federal courthouse in White Plains.

It came after days of discussions and testimony on the sentencing range: 24 to 30 months based on federal guidelines.

The former longtime town official will also have three years supervised release.

Seibel called St. Lawrence's crimes serious, compromising the bond marker as he lied continuously over the years and committed fraud to hide the town's financial morass to get investors in order to get the ballpark and other projects done.

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"He thought it was a great idea, even though his constituents didn't," the judge said of the ball park. "He chose over and over to scheme, hide the truth and lie over the years.

"If he had told the truth, it would be a disagreement over policy and there would be no fraud."

The former supervisor apologized after the sentence was pronounced, saying he was "deeply ashamed" of his actions.

"I was born and raised in the town of Ramapo," he told the judge. "It's been an honor following my father in public service and my mother. ... I am deeply sorry and I apologize. I am deeply ashamed for what I've done to the citizens of this community. This has brought shame to my family and me. I stand here deeply humbled."

St. Lawrence left the courthouse looking straight ahead and making no comment. He's been ordered to report to prison March 15.

"We are disappointed with the sentencing and the conviction and we will appeal both," said his attorney, Michael Burke of Suffern.

Burke has said the appeal will be based on what he called Seibel's errors concerning evidence and testimony before and during the trial. She rejected Burke's request to dismiss the jury's conviction on May 19 of 20 counts of securities and wire fraud, and conspiracy.

The jury accepted the prosecution's evidence that he manipulated the financial books of the town and its economic arm, the Ramapo Local Development Corp.

INDICTMENT:

Jurors found that St. Lawrence fabricated revenues to get lower interest on bonds and short-term borrowing notes to finance the baseball stadium and other bonded infrastructure projects.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said St. Lawrence's actions jeopardized the integrity of the municipal bond market, which finances government projects and improvements.

Kim succeeded Preet Bharara, who led the office when the case was made against St. Lawrence with the Rockland County District Attorney's office. The municipal bond fraud case was the first of its kind against a government.

“For years, Christopher St. Lawrence, as Ramapo town supervisor, misled municipal bond investors about the state of Ramapo’s finances," Kim said. "The integrity of the $3.7 trillion municipal bond market must be protected, and prosecutions like this one should put on all on notice that misleading investors in that market through fraud and deception will lead to prosecution and jail.”

Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said St. Lawrence's arrogance was his undoing and damaged Ramapo, where over-development, unsafe housing and illegal private schools flourished during his nearly 17 years as supervisor.

"Unfortunately, St. Lawrence's arrogance and lawless conduct caused inestimable damage to the residents of the town of Ramapo," Zugibe said. "His sentence was not only for violating the law, but also for undermining the people’s trust and confidence in their elected official. By violating his oath to honestly serve the residents of Ramapo, he defrauded investors and exposed town taxpayers to a precarious financial situation. The sentence imposed by the court is more than merited."

Sally Andriette and Susan Montemorano said St. Lawrence's decision to build the ballpark after residents rejected financing it will plague the town financially for years. The town is paying off $25 million in bonds.

Andriette said she supported St. Lawrence going to prison for 14 years. She said a stiff sentence would send a message to elected officials that they are being watched.

"The town of Ramapo is losing $25 million," she said. "We're stockholders as taxpayers. We didn't approve the stadium. He saddled us with this debt."

Wednesday's sentencing followed hours of give and take on whether Ramapo bond-buyers lost money due to St. Lawrence's fraud. Seibel found the government's methodology was unreliable and inconsistent in estimating about $1 million in losses.

But the judge said that the crimes were made more egregious because St. Lawrence continued with the criminal conspiracy after the FBI and District Attorney's Office raided Town Hall in May 2013 and seized documents and computer files.

She balanced the sentence by saying he did not personally benefit from the conspiracy.

Prosecutor James McMahon urged a substantial prison sentence to send a message that people cannot defraud the bond markets. He said the scheme left Ramapo residents with a baseball stadium that loses money each year.

He also said St. Lawrence showed "arrogance and lack of respect for the law."

"He claims his crimes are good for Ramapo. He just doesn't get it," McMahon said. "He tried to destroy the reputation and livelihood of those standing up to him."

He cited former Deputy Supervisor Patrick Withers and financial officer Melissa Reimer, both of whom secretly audio-taped St. Lawrence and provided evidence against him at trial. Withers lost his office. Reimer was suspended from her job, with pay, and is suing the town.

His lawyer urged Seibel to sentence St. Lawrence to probation. U.S. probation officials recommended 30 months in prison.

Burke blamed St. Lawrence's political enemies, specifically the grassroots group Preserve Ramapo.

"There is nothing positive about Christopher St. Lawrence on the Preserve Ramapo website. They hate him," Burke said.

Burke said this was not a criminal case, but a civil one.

"The answer is at the ballot box, not in the federal courthouse," he said.

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As of August 2015, the town had more than $128 million in outstanding bonds that had been issued for various municipal purposes, while the RLDC, a corporation created and owned by the town under state law, had issued $25 million in bonds to pay for the construction of the stadium.

While the fraud predated the stadium's construction, the town's financial problems were caused largely by the total cost of the stadium.

The judge said her sentence took into consideration that investors were victims deprived by St. Lawrence of honest information on the town's financial health, causing them to potentially lose money. She also considered complaints from Ramapo taxpayers that the fraud cost them money by financing a baseball stadium rejected by voters.

Troodler awaits sentencing

St. Lawrence's sentencing has held up former Assistant Town Attorney Aaron Troodler's sentencing, which is now scheduled for Jan. 2.

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Troodler pleaded guilty to securities fraud and conspiracy in March and cooperated with prosecutors for a lesser sentence by testifying against St. Lawrence. Troodler faces two to four years in prison.

Troodler served as the RLDC's executive director while St. Lawrence led the RLDC board. Troodler also admitted lying to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to protect himself and St. Lawrence.

The SEC has a pending civil fraud case against St. Lawrence and other town officials.

Twitter: @lohudlegal