Opening statements heard in corruption trial of Ramapo town supervisor
<p>Jurors heard opening statements in the corruption trial of Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence Thursday. If St. Lawrence loses, he will be forced out of office and could spend dozens of years behind bars. St. Lawrence has been under investigation for years, but it wasn't until 2016 that he was formally indicted by the federal government for 22 counts of securities and wire fraud. In court on Thursday, federal prosecutors repeatedly called St. Lawrence a liar, and tol...</p>
News 12 Staff
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Apr 20, 2017, 9:59 PM
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Updated 2,560 days ago
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Jurors heard opening statements in the corruption trial of Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence Thursday.
If St. Lawrence loses, he will be forced out of office and could spend dozens of years behind bars.
St. Lawrence has been under investigation for years, but it wasn't until 2016 that he was formally indicted by the federal government for 22 counts of securities and wire fraud.
In court on Thursday, federal prosecutors repeatedly called St. Lawrence a liar, and told the jury he defrauded taxpayers and investors in order to build a $60 million baseball stadium in Ramapo.
The defense attorney told the jury that St. Lawrence never pocketed any money from the stadium and they say no investor ever lost any money.
They believe the case was brought on by a disgruntled employee and by some government groups who just didn't like St. Lawrence and wanted to see him fail.
The trial is expected to last for at least a month. If convicted, St. Lawrence could be sentenced to more than 100 years behind bars.
