CAMDEN - A former New Jersey State Trooper was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison today to his role in a conspiracy to extort money and stock through the use of threats, violence and fear, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle also ordered Peter K. Bethune, 44, of Maple Shade, to pay a $1,000 fine. Judge Simandle continued the defendant's $250,000 personal recognizance bond pending his surrender to the Federal Bureau of Prisons on Oct. 2 to begin serving his prison term.

On Sept. 26, 2005, Bethune and two others were arrested by Special Agents of the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation Division and the N.J. State Police. A fourth defendant remains a fugitive.

According to the Indictment, Bethune, Francis N. Alexander III, 44, of Thorndale, Pa., an auto salesman; Brian H. Lavoe, 31, of Cherry Hill, a massage therapist and bar bouncer; and Christian L. Harper, 58, of Colorado and Vancouver, B.C., a securities promoter, conspired with each other and others to obstruct and affect commerce and the movement of articles and commodities in commerce by extortion. Alexander and Lavoe both pleaded guilty and have been sentenced. Judge Simandle sentenced Alexander to a prison term of 37 months and Lavoe to five years of probation. Harper remains a fugitive and is known to law enforcement to be residing in the People's Republic of China.

Bethune pleaded guilty on April 11, 2006, before Judge Simandle to one count of conspiracy to affect commerce by extortion. At his plea hearing, Bethune admitted that between December 1999 and June 2004, he, Alexander, Lavoe and Harper agreed with others to collect money and/or stock by extortionate means from stock promoters and corporate insiders who allegedly defrauded Harper.

Bethune admitted he participated in a scheme to extort money and stock from several stock promoters and corporate insiders. Bethune (6'11" tall and weighing 300 pounds), Lavoe (6'7" and 250 pounds) and Alexander traveled to locations in Florida, Nevada, California and New England to threaten victims with death or serious injury if they did not transfer stock or money as directed to Harper and another member of the conspiracy.

The victims, under threat of violence, then transferred large sums of money and stock to offshore accounts. The stock and money were then distributed among the defendants.

A Sept. 26, 2005, news release concerning the defendants' indictment and an April 11, 2006, news release concerning Bethune's guilty plea are available on the office website by following the appropriate links at: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nj. In determining the sentence, Judge Simandle consulted the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges that take into account the severity and characteristics of the offense, the defendant's criminal history, if any, and other factors. The judge, however, was not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.

Parole has been abolished in the federal system. Defendants who are given custodial terms must serve nearly all that time.

Christie credited Special Agents of the FBI's Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Leslie Wiser, Jr. in Newark, The IRS Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Patricia J. Haynes, and the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Col. Joseph Rick Fuentes, for investigation of the case.

The Government is represented by Deputy U.S. Attorney for the Southern Vicinages, William E. Fitzpatrick.

Defense Attorney: Kevin M. Hart, Esq. Lawrenceville