Former Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary reported to prison in Alabama on Tuesday.
Lary’s arrival at the Federal Prison Camp in Montgomery marked the start of a 57-month sentence imposed after he admitted to bilking the city he helped create out of federal COVID relief funds — hundreds of thousands of dollars intended to help small businesses stay afloat during the pandemic.
Lary, 60, was sentenced in July, about seven months after he pleaded guilty to wire fraud, theft and conspiracy charges stemming from a scheme that involved using shell companies and other deceptions to pocket the cash. Authorities say the now-former mayor used the money to pay off his own tax debts and the mortgage on his Macon-area lake house.
He was originally scheduled to report to prison on Dec. 15, after completing ongoing treatment related to his lengthy battle against prostate cancer. That date was later pushed back about a month.
In a radio interview last week with Rashad Richey of News & Talk 1830 WAOK, Lary was often defensive. He alternately admitted to “mistakes” being made and contended that he stole from the government, not residents.
Lary told Richey that he was nervous about managing his lymphedema in prison. It is a side effect of cancer treatment that can cause painful swelling in the extremities. He said he would “emerge from this better and stronger.”
“I apologize, please forgive me, give me a second chance at life. I have the opportunity to still live above ground,” Lary said to end the interview. “And don’t be hard on my family.”
Two other people were charged in the Stonecrest scandal.
Lania Boone, who operated as a check-writer for the entity managing the city’s relief funds, was sentenced to six months in prison and has already started serving that stint at a facility in Texas. She’s scheduled for release near the end of May.
Clarence Boone, Lania’s husband and Stonecrest’s now-former economic development manager, pleaded guilty last month to a single count of conspiracy to commit federal program theft. He’s scheduled to be sentenced in March.
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