The convicted public official’s playbook calls for the defendant to show remorse and apologize for his or her crimes and misdeeds at sentencing.

Former Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski did not follow this playbook and now faces a 15-year jail term and a nearly $95,000 restitution fine, which, ironically, is the mayor’s annual salary.

It was shocking, to say the least, to see this once popular Democrat who spearheaded Allentown’s revitalization being led out of a federal courthouse in handcuffs as his wife and daughter looked on in disbelief and cried.

If Pawlowski had followed the playbook of some other convicted Pennsylvania officials, U.S. District Judge Juan R. Sanchez might have been inclined to impose a lesser sentence, but given Pawlowski’s insistence that he did nothing wrong so had nothing to apologize for, Sanchez was not moved to show any leniency.

“No remorse, no contrition,” Sanchez said before sentencing the mayor of the state’s third largest city. Despite being indicted by a federal grand jury, Pawlowski was re-elected to a fourth four-year term in a three-person race last November. He resigned in March following his conviction on 38 counts for participating in pay-to-play schemes that traded city contracts for political contributions to his mayoral campaign and his unsuccessful bids for governor and U.S. Senate.

Deputy U.S. Attorney Louis Lappen found Pawlowski’s lack of contrition beyond brazen. When he had the opportunity at sentencing to tell everyone that he was sorry for his illegal deeds, he failed to do so or to show any remorse, Lappen said.

Pawlowski’s attorney Jack McMahon said it would have been disingenuous for his client to apologize for something that he believed he did not do. McMahon asked that Pawlowski remain free on bail while an appeal process plays out, but the judge agreed with the prosecution that given the length of the sentence Pawlowski could be a flight risk. McMahon said he is “very confident” that Pawlowski’s appeal will be upheld.

The stiff sentence, which is at the upper end of what the prosecution had recommended, is a sobering message to other statewide officials that courts, and the citizens have had enough of corrupt politicians and that this type of unacceptable, illegal behavior will be undertaken at their own peril.

About that playbook that I mentioned earlier: Former state Treasurer Rob McCord, also a Democrat, used it to his advantage when he went before the sentencing judge in federal court in Harrisburg earlier this year and proclaimed that he wanted to apologize to the people of Pennsylvania. “I’m sorry. I’m a flawed man,” McCord said.

McCord was convicted of two counts of attempted federal extortion for trying to shake down state vendors in exchange for contributions to his ill-fated gubernatorial bid in 2014. McCord lost the Democratic primary to Gov. Tom Wolf.

Federal Judge John E. Jones III sentenced McCord to 2½ years in prison, a term he will begin serving at the end of this month. McCord could have been ordered to serve six years, but the judge took into account his apology and the fact that he had no prior convictions.

Last fall, former Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams, a Democrat, was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to corruption charges in June. In a statement to the court, Williams apologized, saying: “Rather than holding myself to a higher standard, I squandered that trust placed in me.”

U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond scolded Williams, saying that he “humiliated his office and the city by selling them to parasites.”

The Pawlowski saga is a sad tale about the two faces of a politician. Nearly 50 character witnesses appeared on his behalf at the sentencing attesting to his being a religious man, “a good person” who had a “compassionate heart.”

Person after person commended him for the good things he did for the city he constantly claimed that he loved. He was called a champion of the downtrodden, a loving husband and a “great dad” by his wife, Lisa, and his 19-year-old daughter, Mercy. Several character witnesses from the large Hispanic community in the city described him as a healing force to bring people together for the greater good of Allentown.

This Pawlowski was contrasted with the “profane” ex-mayor as described by U.S. Attorney Anthony Wzorek, who reminded the court that the true Pawlowski was caught on tape unaware that cooperative government informants were wearing wires and surreptitiously capturing his damning words. Wzorek characterized this Pawlowski as a corrupt public official motivated by ambition and a desire for power and status.

The conclusion to this sordid scandal, which began more than three years ago with an FBI raid on city hall, sends a direct message to all public officials: No one is above the law.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com