ST. LOUIS • Former Pine Lawn Mayor Sylvester Caldwell was sentenced Monday afternoon in federal court here to 33 months in prison for extorting and trying to extort money from two businesses.
Caldwell also was ordered to repay a total of $5,500 — $3,900 as a refund of money paid to him by Pine Lawn Market and $1,600 that the FBI spent in the sting that nabbed him.
U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry scolded Caldwell that public office is “not a license to extort money.â€
Under federal sentencing guidelines, Caldwell faced 27 to 33 months in prison.
Defense lawyer Grant Boyd asked for a 27-month sentence, citing a series of health conditions and saying that Caldwell was already being punished by losing the profession that was “his life.â€
Offered the chance to speak, Caldwell said, “I pass.â€
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Assistant U.S. Attorney Reginald Harris asked for the top of the sentencing range, saying Caldwell berated, bullied and hounded people, took store owners’ merchandise and demanded money from them by virtue of his position as mayor.
Boyd, in response, claimed that Caldwell built Pine Lawn up from “in shambles.â€
Court spectators responded to Boyd with derisive snorts and groans. One woman said, “That’s a lie.â€
After the hearing, a small crowd waited for Caldwell outside the courtroom, but security officers took him out a side entrance.
Rosyln Brown, vice president of Concerned Citizens of Pine Lawn, said that she wanted to tell Caldwell, “Shame on you.â€
Brown said that Caldwell used the police and housing departments “to place citizens in fear†and .
“We’re glad that the corruption is gone,†she said, adding that the city and Caldwell’s opponents are now working to repeal ordinances he put into place. One example: a requirement that residents get a permit to clean their gutters.
The mayor interrupted his jury trial in April, after prosecutors had rested their case, to to one felony count each of extortion and attempted extortion. He agreed to resign as a condition for remaining out of jail on bail until sentencing.
His lawyers acknowledged during the trial that he had taken bribes but said there were no threats and therefore was no extortion. Testimony at trial contradicted that. A tow company owner and both a convenience store manager and co-owner said that they feared repercussions if they didn’t pay Caldwell.
The tow company owner worked with the FBI in recording Caldwell asking for “,†a code phrase for a bribe.
Caldwell, then 55, was indicted last year. He must surrender to begin serving his sentence by July 21.
Elwyn Walls of Pine Lawn watched the hearing and said, “Now the citizens of Pine Lawn no longer have to fear the dictatorship of that man,†he said.
Walls mentioned officials connected to Caldwell who had been removed, including Steven Blakeney, a Pine Lawn police lieutenant fired in December.
Blakeney was charged June 26 in ºüÀêÊÓƵ with misdemeanor assault in an incident that occurred while he was still on the force. Court records say Blakeney allegedly punched a man about 2:35 a.m. Sept. 5, 2014, during a confrontation at 11th Street and Washington Avenue.
Blakeney was off-duty, driving his take-home police vehicle, according to a police report. He has denied hitting the man. Blakeney referred questions Monday to his lawyer, Clinton Wright, who declined comment.
Joel Currier of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.