ALLENTOWN, Pa. _ Former Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski's stunning fall from power ended Tuesday with a judge sentencing him to 15 years in federal prison _ the stark finale of a corruption drama that opened more than three years ago with a raid on City Hall.
Denied bail while the case is appealed, Pawlowski was taken from the courtroom in handcuffs. He was committed to Lehigh County Jail pending assignment to a federal prison.
Despite Pawlowski's plea for leniency and the testimony of a parade of character witnesses who praised the longtime mayor for leading the state's third-largest city out of a decadeslong decline, Judge Juan R. Sanchez's sentence was at the high end of federal guidelines.
Sanchez said he sensed little remorse in Pawlowski _ "no apologies, no contrition" _ and said the mayor and his co-defendants acted more like criminals than public servants as they engaged in pay-to-play politics.
Pawlowski looked stunned at the sentence. His wife, Lisa, who had asked the judge to be lenient, wiped tears from her eyes. His daughter, Mercy, cried softly.
After Pawlowski was taken from the courtroom, a marshal handed Lisa Pawlowski her husband's necktie, belt and wallet.
Sanchez said it is unfortunate that Pawlowski's family will suffer due to his sentence, but that consequence will flow "from his actions and no one else's."
Pawlowski's prison term will be followed by three years of supervised release. He must also pay more than $93,000 in restitution.
Briefly addressing Sanchez before the sentencing, Pawlowski said he never imagined himself facing prison after a lifetime of public service.
"In some small way I thought I could make a difference and change the world," he said.
That brought him years of sleepless nights in Allentown, worrying about the city and how he could bring it back. Pawlowski said he also passed up numerous chances to put himself and his family first.
"All I've done and all that I am is now in your hands," he said. "I ask for your compassion for my wife and my children. I ask this humbly."
Sanchez chose to remand Pawlowski immediately rather than allowing him to remain free on bail as his defense attorney Jack McMahon requested. Prosecutors argued that Pawlowski was a flight risk due to his lengthy sentence and assets. McMahon countered that the sentence may give Pawlowski motive to flee, but prosecutors offered no proof that Pawlowski was likely to run, he said.
Sanchez sided with prosecutors just as he did when sentencing Pawlowski's co-defendant Scott Allinson earlier this year. Allinson was immediately taken into custody although he was later released pending an appeal.
"Given his history with regards to lying to the FBI and he lied to the jury, this is a different circumstance since he has now been convicted," Sanchez said. "I don't think he has convinced me that he is unlikely to flee."
Deputy U.S. Attorney Louis Lappen said prosecutors were "extremely pleased" with the sentence and said it was a day the residents of Allentown had been awaiting for a long time. Speaking on the courthouse steps Tuesday, Lappen said corruption is a crime that "strikes at the heart of our democracy," because democracy counts on public officials to act on behalf of citizens and not themselves.
"Put the citizens first," Lappen said. "What happened to Ed Pawlowski ought to send that message clearly."
He called Pawlowski's lack of apology or contrition in his statement to the court astounding.
"When he finally had the opportunity to tell the court, to tell the citizens of Allentown, to tell his family, to tell everyone how sorry he was for what he did and show some remorse, he didn't do it," Lappen said. "The court recognized that in the sentence it imposed."
McMahon said the sentence was excessive for Pawlowski's crimes.
"We knew that he was going to be incarcerated, we knew he was going to get a substantial amount of time, but that amount of time was simply cruel," McMahon said.
McMahon said the prosecutors' claim that Pawlowski lacked remorse was unfair. Pawlowski has steadfastly maintained he did nothing wrong and McMahon said it would be disingenuous to apologize if he is innocent.
"I would be more offended if I was the judge if he got up and said 'I'm sorry,' because then that means you were trying to con us all along," McMahon said. "He isn't remorseful, because he says he didn't do it."
McMahon said he's "very confident" Pawlowski's appeal will be successful.
The 46 witnesses called by McMahon _ Pawlowski's family and a slate of friends and other supporters reflecting the city's diversity _ painted him as a charitable man of deep religious convictions and praised him for leading the beleaguered city into revival.
McMahon himself described Pawlowski's behavior as "aberrant" and unlike other political corruption cases that have captured headlines in recent years where state and federal elected officials have used their offices to benefit themselves personally.
"This case has none of that _ not one dollar, not one nickel was being used to buy himself a better tie, or get his kid a better education or get a nicer car," McMahon said.
But prosecutors said such testimony was at odds with a darker side of Pawlowski revealed in secret recordings that played a large role in his conviction.
U.S. Attorney Anthony Wzorek said the former mayor has two personalities _ the public one and the "profane, conspiratorial" one heard on the tapes.
"This is the unfiltered Mr. Pawlowski. This doesn't sound like the religious man described here in this courtroom or the common man or the legend described in those letters," Wzorek said.
Wzorek argued that Pawlowski used the money he got from donors who received city business to try to buy himself a seat in the U.S. Senate.
"These are serious offenses, your honor, motivated by ambition and a thirst for status and power," Wzorek said.
While Pawlowski was convicted of 47 counts in March, he was only sentenced on 38. Prosecutors previously requested dropping five wire fraud charges, arguing that insufficient evidence was presented at trial.
On Monday, Sanchez granted Pawlowski's motion for acquittal on four more stemming from an alleged scheme to tie legal work for the Stevens & Lee law firm to campaign contributions.
In a statement, Allentown Mayor Ray O'Connell said Pawlowski is credited with significant accomplishments "but a jury found that his actions tied to his political ambition ran afoul of the law."
"The sentence imposed by Judge Sanchez today closes another chapter in that tale," the statement said. "We are trying to put that past us by working hard every day to restore the public's faith in Allentown city government."
Pawlowski was convicted in March after a nearly six-week trial of trading city contracts for campaign donations to fund his bids for mayor, governor and U.S. Senate. Jurors found him guilty on 47 counts in connection to eight schemes, including those involving contracts for a city pool, tax collection service, cybersecurity and streetlight installation.
The panel returned guilty verdicts to charges of conspiracy, bribery, mail and wire fraud and making false statements to the FBI. Also convicted conspiracy and bribery was Allentown lawyer Scott Allinson. He was sentenced to 27 months in prison, but is free while he appeals his conviction.
