Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence charged in a controversial stadium financing case has been sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison.

St. Lawrence, of Wesley Hills, was sentenced Wednesday after being convicted by a White Plains federal court jury of 20 counts of conspiracy, securities fraud and wire fraud.

The fraud pertained in part to the issuance of $25 million in bonds to pay for construction of a minor league baseball stadium. The stadium cost $58 million.

Prosecutors said the 67-year-old St. Lawrence lied to investors about the town’s financial problems.

The town’s financial woes were largely due to a $58 million minor league ballpark project, prosecutors said. The park is home to the Rockland Boulders.

Ramapo residents had rejected a plan to guarantee bonds used to finance the park in a 2010 referendum, and St. Lawrence told residents that no public money would be used for the project. However, Ramapo ended up paying more than half the cost, according to prosecutors.

In a statement released Wednesday, Rockland County Executive Ed Day said that elected officials must be held accountable for any misuse of taxpayer funds.

“The fraud perpetuated by former Supervisor St. Lawrence was not a ‘victimless’ crime,” said Day. “There are many victims, both in the Town of Ramapo, in Rockland County and beyond.  As a county, we can only hope that the sentence handed down in federal court today closes a sad chapter in Ramapo, the largest town in Rockland.  As county executive, I support every effort to restore integrity to Ramapo.”

(YWN / AP)