Longshoreman Paul Moe Sr. was hardly ever at work.

The 66-year-old Port Elizabeth dockworker, who made $493,029 a year, was paid 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year--getting straight time, overtime and extra pay for holidays and weekends, authorities said.

However, investigators from the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor said he couldn't be found on the waterfront many days, and frequently was out on his boat in Atlantic Highlands, at the movies, at home or on vacation in Aruba.

Convicted of fraud and conspiracy in connection with the no-show job, he faced nearly four years in prison. But a federal judge in Newark on Monday, citing the ambiguity of the union contract and the failure of his own employer to take action against him, sentenced Moe to just 24 months in prison. U.S. District Judge Katharine Hayden also allowed him to remain free on bail pending an appeal.

Despite his conviction, Moe was steadfast in court maintaining that he had done nothing wrong. "I can look myself in the mirror and I know I'm innocent," he told the judge. "I never defrauded anyone."

Moe, a former general foreman for APM Terminals in Port Elizabeth, said no one ever told him he actually had to be on site 40 hours a week to earn his pay package.

"Why I'm standing here as a convicted felon is beyond me. They never informed me," he said.

Moe, a member of the International Longshoremen's Association, was responsible for maintenance and repair of the terminal's container handling equipment.

Paid at an hourly rate that came to nearly $500,000 a year, he was seldom at work, prosecutors said. With the help of colleagues, Moe routinely submitted false time sheets on his behalf, but was caught by investigators going fishing on his boat, having dinner with a girlfriend, and taking trips to Florida and Aruba, prosecutors said.

He owned a Mercedes and a Porsche, but claimed his pay was set under the union's collective bargaining agreement, and that he had not done anything illegal.

During testimony at trial, the U.S. Attorney's office said Moe was among a group of individuals with similar "special deals" that guaranteed 24/7 pay, and other salary and work practices. At trial, witnesses said theses deals have driven up costs at the port terminals in New York and New Jersey.

In court on Monday, assistant U.S. attorney Tracey Anne Agnew urged the judge to impose a sentence of up to 46 months in prison.

"The defendant defrauded his employer by obtaining wages and pension contributions to which he was not entitled," she said. "This happened every day, day in, and day out."

Defense attorney Gerald McMahon argued during trial that Moe was not required to put in a 40-hour week to collect his full pay--only to be on call 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. McMahon said the longshoreman had never been told he had to be at the terminal and claimed he had been targeted by the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor because of his friendship with ILA President Harold Daggett.

"He had the sweetheart deal of the century and he did not know he had to be there 40 hours a week. And that's because for 15 years, nobody said he had to," McMahon told the court.

The judge herself questioned whether there was ambiguity in the language of the union's collective bargaining agreement, as well as the conduct of Moe's employer. However, she added that those arguments "were played out to this jury that rejected them in finding that submitting false timesheets, Mr. Moe was breaking the law."

However, she also noted Moe's age and the strong support of his family, agreeing to a significant sentencing downgrade to 24 months in prison.

She ordered him to pay restitution of $749,000, while agreeing to allow him to remain free on bail pending an appeal.

McMahon said he intends to appeal the conviction.

Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Facebook: @TedSherman.reporter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.