Former Mayor and school board President Louis LaPolla wants to earn back the trust of Utica residents after he pleaded guilty last week to petit larceny.
“I’m going to rebuild the trust within the community,” LaPolla said, reading over the phone a lengthy statement he read after his sentencing in court on April 10. “Being human there were problems, gestures that were accepted. I just want to move on. And I'll continue being active in the community and do some community work to restore my reputation and confidence people had in me.”
Under a plea deal, LaPolla was sentenced in Oneida County Court to 60 days of domicile restriction, three years of probation and payment of $3,100 in restitution.
As part of the deal, LaPolla admitted that he followed a suggestion of former Superintendent Bruce Karam in 2022 to let school employees stuff and stamp mailers with flyers for a testimonial dinner for LaPolla’s retirement to raise money for a scholarship fund in memory of his late wife Andrea.
Staff put the mailings together during working hours using school district supplies.
LaPolla was initially charged in November with fourth degree grand larceny and public corruption.
Karam pleaded guilty in March to public corruption in connection to this incident and another in which he had district employees use district supplies to mail out political flyers for a school board candidate. He will be sentenced, through a plea deal, to five years of probation, 250 hours of community service and the payment of $12,000 in restitution. He also agreed to a consent order reducing his pension benefits.
Karam is due in court for sentencing on April 19.
'I tried to make a positive impact on the community'
In his statement before the court, LaPolla stressed his 60 years of public service as mayor, school board member and president, and head of Utica’s municipal housing authority without incurring so much as a traffic ticket. He noted that he spent 25 years as an unpaid member of the school board and only missed one meeting (when he had Bell’s palsy).
“I tried to make a positive impact on our community,” he said. “I stressed the need to comply with all laws and urged my family to do likewise, but I failed in this court case.”
LaPolla’s sentence reflects his actions, said Laurie Lisi, Oneida County executive assistant district attorney.
“He violated the public trust,” she said. “He’s pled guilty; he’s been held accountable for it. At the time of sentencing, he basically accepted responsibility for that … I think justice has been served.”
LaPolla has already paid the full amount of restitution, Lisi noted.
Additional charges
LaPolla also faces federal charges of mail fraud for allegedly soliciting through the mail for his wife’s scholarship fund between 2018 and 2022, and then spending $38,000 of those funds on personal expenses.
His wife’s death left him with medical debt and he was not aware he couldn’t borrow money from the scholarship fund, which has given out six scholarships, to pay off those debts, LaPolla said.
“I brought embarrassment to myself, my family, friends and the community,” LaPolla said, “and for this I am truly sorry.”
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