The former Ogdensburg City Councilor who pled guilty last month to forging receipts for a WWE fundraiser was sentenced today in St. Lawrence County Court. 47-year-old Kresten F. Ericksen was sentenced to one year conditional discharge on a single misdemeanor count of 3rd degree forgery. Ericksen previously agreed as part of his plea to reimburse the school district $12,235 it spent for an audit of student council finances, as well as $3,100 for proceeds of a Harlem Wizards event at the dome which were never deposited in the bank and are still unaccounted for.
The investigation at Ogdensburg Free Academy began after WWE officials complained they had received about $15,000 less than expected from the second of two shows at the school's Golden Dome in July 2006.
State police arrested Ericksen in September of last year on a count of 2nd degree Forgery. Ericksen, who was the Student Council Advisor at the time of the WWE events, forged an $8,000 receipt, making it appear the WWE had been paid for the event, when in fact no such receipt had been issued by the WWE.
In court today Ericksen said he was too busy during the event in question and admitted he forged the signature.
In a rambling statement to the court Eriksen nearly, inadvertently, had his plea bargain tossed out by Judge Jerome Richards.
After admitting to forging a signature, Eriksen went on to complain about his treatment by the judicial system, the media and the District Attorney’s office through the course of the investigation.
“I’m not the only person that should have been questioned or punished,” Eriksen said. “I agreed to a plea bargain because I couldn’t take it anymore.”
When he concluded the statement Judge Richards informed Erickson he was prepared to was not accept the guilty plea and to move forward with a trial.
After consulting with his attorney, Eriksen apologized to the court. Judge Richards then sentenced Eriksen.
An audit of the school’s finances showed several events held at the Dome had money missing from ticket sales. The audit itself was the subject of a lawsuit attempting to force the District to release the full audit, as the heavily-redacted portion released to the public omitted much information.
A longtime member of the Ogdensburg City Council, Ericksen decided not to seek reelection this year.
