Former festival promoter David Eckberg apologized in court Friday for issuing worthless checks that led to the demise of Lumberjack Days, the regional celebration that attracted tens of thousands of people to downtown Stillwater every July.
"It's been a terrible experience; I'm sorry it happened," Eckberg said before his felony sentencing in Washington County District Court. "It was a life-changing impact for many people and I apologize."
Lumberjack Days was one of the premier festivals in the metro area and was known for a huge parade, lumberjack demonstrations, free concerts by yesteryear headliner bands such as Chicago, the Grass Roots and America, and a fireworks show over the St. Croix River. A few months after the 2011 festival ended, Stillwater police and the Washington County Sheriff's Office began investigating Eckberg's finances. County Attorney Pete Orput filed criminal charges in late 2012.
Judge Susan Miles sentenced Eckberg to a year of probation, a $1,000 fine, and 240 hours of community service that he must complete within six months. He also was ordered to pay restitution to three businesses and a booster club that had received worthless checks. Defense attorney Eric Thole said three of four victims had been paid in recent days and a check was mailed to a fourth.
Eckberg admitted to issuing worthless checks in the amounts of $20,000 to Icabod Productions, $10,000 to Stillwater Blue Line Boosters, $5,800 to Needham Distributing, and $2,200 to Hohensteins Inc., a beer distributor. Eckberg, owner of St. Croix Events, had been scheduled for a trial on 10 felony counts related to financial fraud but pleaded guilty in February to an "aggregate" count that included all the money owed to those victims.
Checks to pay off the debts were issued this week from Thole's attorney trust fund, but he said Eckberg had supplied the money. He declined to specify how Eckberg, who has declared bankruptcy, paid the bills except to say that Eckberg had equity in his house in Baytown Township and his wife is employed.
"This could have been done two years ago. It's ridiculous," said Brian Mock, who owns Icabod, a music equipment company. "It cost the taxpayers more than $1,000 in damages to do all the investigations. That $1,000 fine is a little light compared to what it cost everybody else to deal with all this. We're the four that luckily got paid but I know there's a lot more listed in his bankruptcy paperwork that he owes money to."
Beau McGraw, who became president of the Stillwater hockey boosters two years ago, said Eckberg personally handed him a check this week for the owed amount. "While it's terrible it occurred, it made our booster club stronger," he told the judge in court.
