Judge Upholds St. Lawrence's Conviction In Ramapo Fraud Case

RAMAPO, NY — The trial judge has denied all motions seeking a new trial by attorneys for former Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence. U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel issued her ruling Wednesday upholding his conviction. St. Lawrence is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 27.

St. Lawrence had been indicted on 22 federal charges accusing him of cooking the town's books to hide financial problems. He was charged with securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy in connection with municipal bonds issued by the Town and by the Ramapo Local Development Corporation.

The case is believed to be the second conviction for federal securities fraud in connection with municipal bond issuances.

The first was Aaron Troodler, who was Ramapo's assistant town attorney and the head of the Ramapo Local Development Corporation when he and St. Lawrence devised a complex securities fraud scheme so they could hide public funds being used for the construction of a stadium and other projects.

The RDLC, created and owned by the town, had one disastrous investment — Provident Bank Park (now Palisades Credit Union Park).

The two defrauded both the citizens of Ramapo and thousands of investors around the country, selling over $150 million of municipal bonds based on fabricated financials, prosecutors said. They lied to conceal the inability of the RLDC to make scheduled payments of principal and interest to its bondholders from its own money. And they lied to hide the deteriorating state of the Town’s finances. Mostly they made up up false assets in the Town’s General Fund. The RLDC's major contribution to cooking the books involved a property known as The Hamlets.

The town faced deficits for years but the phony assets concealed that.

Troodler pleaded guilty March 7.

Also noteworthy: This article from The Journal News about the legal troubles of 15 Rockland officials, most of whom are from Ramapo.

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