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St. Lawrence back in federal court as trial nears

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St. Lawrence arrives at court Photo: Ricky Flores/The Journal News

“A federal judge ruled today that prosecutors can pin their fraud case against Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence on the Rockland Boulders baseball stadium.

St. Lawrence was in court in White Plains today for a pre-trial conference during which U.S. District Court Judge Cathy Seibel ruled on a number of motions. Among them, she said prosecutors will be allowed to argue at St. Lawrence’s trial in April that he lied about public funds being used to build Provident Bank Park in Pomona, which prosecutors said was his motivation for doctoring town financial records to cover up the deception. [Read more…]

Contaminated soil remains despite $400k payout

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Piles of dirt at the Sloatsburg Community Field in Sloatsburg Photo: John Meore/The Journal News

“A local sewer district and the town of Ramapo are at the center of a growing controversy over hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars paid for work never completed to remove soil — some of it contaminated — stockpiled for years in public view.

Rockland County officials are scrambling to figure out why Ramapo has yet to remove 35,000 cubic yards of soil in four locations for the Rockland Sewer District 1 after the town was paid $400,000 in 2012 to do it. Those piles are now approximately 15,500 cubic yards in size. [Read more…]

St. Lawrence linked to missing $400k and toxic dump

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Channel 4 News

Channel 4 I-Team: Potential Scandal Brews in Rockland County Over Contaminated Soil in Public Park

In a special report by Sarah Wallace on Channel 4 News, Ramapo’s indicted Supervisor has been linked to a toxic pile next to a public park and almost a half-million in unaccounted for funds. Click on either image or here for the video coverage.

Sarah Wallace Channel 4 News

Plea deal: Troodler will testify against Ramapo’s St. Lawrence

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Photo of St. Lawrence listening to public remarks

Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence’s corruption trial is set for mid-April

“Former Ramapo attorney Aaron Troodler is expected to testify against his former co-defendant, Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence, as part of his guilty plea to federal fraud and corruption charges, the plea agreement confirms.

Troodler pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in White Plains to committing securities fraud as part of a corruption scheme involving the financing of the town’s baseball stadium through the Ramapo Local Development Corp. Troodler, a former deputy town attorney, also served as the LDC’s executive director while St. Lawrence chaired the three-member board. He now lives in Pennsylvania. [Read more…]

Ramapo must move beyond St. Lawrence: JN Editorial

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Sign Resign now

Aaron Troodler’s guilty plea confirms troubles in town. The buck stops with the supervisor, who still faces similar federal charges.

“The surprise guilty plea by Aaron Troodler, former executive director of the Ramapo Local Development Corporation, demonstrates the “reprehensible corruption” that Ramapo residents fear. Troodler, by admitting to conspiracy to commit securities fraud, validates that the town’s leadership has failed. And the buck stops with Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence. He must resign, so Ramapo can move forward. [Read more…]

Ramapo: Aaron Troodler pleads guilty to fraud, conspiracy

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Aaron Troodler Photo: Kathy Gardner/The Journal News

“Aaron Troodler, the former executive director of the Ramapo Local Development Corporation, pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges he conspired with Ramapo Town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence in a corruption scheme involving the financing of the town’s baseball stadium and other projects.

Troodler, 42, admitted to committing securities fraud as a part of a scheme to defraud investors in municipal bonds issued by the RLDC and the town, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said. [Read more…]

Mona’s gamble fails: Board of Elections rules against the SV Committee takeover

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Mona Montal at the tables–Photo Credit: Borgata Fall Poker Open

The following is from a Press Release issued by Steven White, March 7, 2017.

“The Rockland County Board of Elections has sustained objections filed by Steven White and annulled the takeover of the Spring Valley Democratic Committee by proxies of the Ramapo Democratic Chair, Mona Montal.

Spring Valley Democratic Committee Members Betty Carmand and Steven White objected to an attempt by the Ramapo Democratic Committee to take over and control the Spring Valley Committee. [Read more…]

Zeroing in on government fraud

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SEC fishing clipped image

by Steven Malanga, city-journal.org February 16, 2017

This article from the City Journal provides a thorough explanation of the federal crimes that Christopher St. Lawrence, Aron Troodler, Michael Klein, and Nathan Oberman are charged with. It also explains why this is a benchmark prosecution for the DEC and the FBI.

In April, an unprecedented criminal trial will kick off in federal court in New York, with two representatives of the town of Ramapo facing multiple counts of securities fraud. Prosecutors have frequently indicted public officials for embezzling taxpayer money or taking bribes, but this case marks the first attempt to convict officials for fabricating a town’s financial statement in order to raise money in the bond market—in this instance, to pay for a new minor-league baseball stadium. Ramapo town supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence and Ramapo Local Development Corporation executive director N. Aaron Troodler “kicked truth and transparency to the curb,” alleges the indictment, by lying to investors about the town’s crumbling finances. Among the maneuvers the pair employed, prosecutors say, was to shift around assets in city accounts and to exaggerate the size of payments the town had received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for cleanup after Superstorm Sandy. [Read more…]

“Our party has been hijacked”

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The Spring Valley Democratic Committee had not met for years, and that was the first thing that made the Presidents Day meeting unusual. But what made it alarming was the way it was conducted, behind closed doors with a significant reorganization voted on by committee members who were nowhere to be seen, not even in the very room where the vote was taken. Also absent was the architect of the takeover. This is not the first time the Ramapo Democratic machine has deployed its network of ghost puppets to extend its control. [Read more…]

Mallia ‘helped’ developers who donated to St. Lawrence

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Anthony Mallia Ramapo Director of Building and Planning

Anthony Mallia arrest photo

“Three of the developers allegedly given breaks on permit fees by Anthony Mallia, Ramapo’s building inspector, were major donors to the campaign committees of Mallia’s boss, town Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence.

Mallia was indicted last week on charges that he bilked the town of $150,000 by falsifying records so that he could reduce the permit fees on 39 projects from late 2014 through 2015. He also allegedly overcharged the Moleston Fire District in Ramapo by tens of thousands of dollars on its permit fees for the new Hillcrest fire station. Mallia has been suspended since his arrest in the case in October. [Read more…]