Ericksen Pleads Guilty To Forgery

In St. Lawrence County Court Monday, 47 year old Kresten Ericksen admitted to falsifying the name of a professional wrestling official on a cash receipt, but he denied pocketing any missing money.

Ericksen’s deal with prosecutors will keep him out of jail, but requires him to reimburse the Ogdensburg School District for the $12,000 cost of an internal audit during the investigation.

Ericksen must also reimburse the Student Activity fund $3,100 and he must resign his school job as recreation facilities manager.

But his attorney says Ericksen took the rap for a school system with no checks and balances in its bookkeeping.

“He would not in any way accept any responsibility for any missing funds,” said defense lawyer Gary Miles.

During an appearance in St. Lawrence County Court Monday, Ericksen pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of third-degree forgery as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.

A cloud of suspicion has followed Ericksen for months after his arrest on felony second-degree forgery charges involving student fundraisers and alleged financial discrepancies.

“I am satisfied that with this plea we have gotten what we are able to get based on what we were able to prove,” said District Attorney Nicole Duve.

Ericksen was a student council advisor when he forged the name of a World Wrestling Entertainment official to a $8,000 cash receipt.

The WWE also claimed it was shorted $15,000 in ticket sales.

A school audit suggested more than $6,000 was missing from ticket sales to one of the WWE’s wrestling shows at the Ogdensburg Golden Dome in June 2006.

The audit also found discrepancies from other student fundraisers implying that upwards of $15,000 was unaccounted for.

But prosecutors say poor record keeping made it impossible to track where the money went and how much may have been missing, except $3,100 that apparently was never deposited after a basketball event with the Harlem Wizards.

Ericksen could face up to a year in jail, three months probation or a split sentence of jail time and probation when he is sentenced June 30.

See John Friot’s report:

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