Mayor of Pine Lawn sentenced to nearly 3 years in prison

ST. LOUIS -- The 55-year-old mayor of a St. Louis suburb has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison for demanding money from two companies in exchange for city business.

Federal prosecutors in St. Louis said Monday that Pine Lawn Mayor Sylvester Caldwell has been sentenced to two years and nine months in federal prison. He's also been ordered to repay about $5,500. He pleaded guilty in April to one count of attempted extortion and one count of extortion.

Caldwell's accused of using his municipal position to extort money from a local towing company and from the owner of a local convenience store.

The indictment said Caldwell accepted five payments totaling $1,600 between December 2013 and April 2014 in exchange for ordering the Pine Lawn police force to use the company's services.