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.
Rockland District Attorney Thomas Zugibe called the plea a “successful outcome.”
“This plea is another successful outcome in our continuing joint efforts to root out corruption in the Town of Ramapo.” Zugibe said in an email. “The residents of Ramapo are the unfortunate victims of this reprehensible conduct. We will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute these blatant criminal violations with the hope that public confidence will be restored.
The case against St. Lawrence is still pending; he has pleaded not guilty in the case. His lawyer, Michael Burke, told The Journal News they had no comment on Troodler’s plea and were moving forward toward trial, currently scheduled for mid-April.
THE PLEA: Read the full document
INFORMATION: The full document
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EARLIER: St. Lawrence, Troodler get trial date on corruption charges
Prosecutors did not say whether Troodler, who now lives in Pennsylvania, agreed to testify against St. Lawrence at trial, but one possible indication is that his scheduled sentencing was set well into the future, for Sept. 18.
Prosecutors said the securities fraud charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, while the conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.”
Read the complete Journal News story here.