CANTON — Kresten F. Ericksen at first admitted to forging a receipt, but concluded a lengthy statement before sentencing by acknowledging he did nothing wrong.
The momentary turnaround had raised eyebrows in the courtroom — with the judge, at one juncture, even considering vacating his guilty plea.
When all was said Monday, St. Lawrence County Court Judge Jerome J. Richards sentenced Mr. Ericksen to a one-year conditional discharge.
The former Edgar A. Newell II Golden Dome director pleaded guilty in May to a single misdemeanor count of third-degree forgery after a long-running investigation into the handling of proceeds from a series of fund-raising events at the dome.
He was accused of forging a receipt for $8,000 in Ogdensburg Free Academy Student Council funds for a World Wrestling Entertainment event in June 2006.
"I cannot deny signing the paper," Mr. Ericksen said. "There was no money taken."
Although he did not admit stealing any money, Mr. Ericksen reimbursed the Ogdensburg City School District $12,235 it spent for an audit of student council finances. He also reimbursed the district $3,100, which he said represents the proceeds of the second of two Harlem Wizards events at the dome that were never deposited in the bank and that are unaccounted for, ostensibly because of sloppy bookkeeping.
Mr. Ericksen said he was too busy during the WWE event and forged the signature. He admitted that he should have taken the extra step and acquired the signature of Joseph Pelkofski, a WWE live event marketing representative, on a receipt for $8,000 in advance money used to reimburse performers and crew members for travel and other expenses related to the show.
He used a "stash" of money that he kept aside to pay for invoices that needed immediate payment because processing a purchase order through the school could sometimes be prolonged. The "stash" of money came from payments that he received for working overtime or performing other duties for the district. The $3,100 payment for the Harlem Wizards event came from the pool of funds.
Mr. Ericksen said during his 15-minute statement that emotional stress and constant attacks from the media enticed him to plead guilty.
"I couldn't take it anymore," Mr. Ericksen said.
Judge Richards had considered throwing out the guilty plea because Mr. Ericksen's statement concluded with him taking back the confession of forging the receipt.
After consulting with defense attorney Gary W. Miles, Mr. Ericksen's statement was straightened out, and the hearing proceeded.
Sixteen letters of support, mostly from family members and students whom he coached, were sent on his behalf. Support letters also came from Ogdensburg Councilman Michael Morley and City Clerk Kathleen Bouchard.
Mr. Ericksen declined further comment after the hearing.
