Ex-Seaport Museum chief to be sentenced for fraud

John S. Carter, the disgraced former Independence Seaport Museum president, is expected to be sentenced to federal prison today.

Carter has pleaded guilty to fraud but has contested the amount of the loss the museum suffered. The total-loss amount is key because it will affect the recommended sentencing range under the federal advisory guidelines.

U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick spent six hours yesterday listening to testimony from FBI agent John Roberts, who tallied scores of museum expenditures, more than $1 million of which the agent identified as money Carter converted for his personal use.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Pease has said the actual loss exceeds $1.5 million and the total intended loss is roughly $2.5 million. Pease alleges that Carter lied to the authorities about his assets after his guilty plea. The prosecutor has asked for a sentence in the 14- to 19-year range.

Defense lawyer Mark E. Cedrone has said that the total loss is less than $1 million and that Carter should face a sentence in the five-year range.

According to Carter's guilty plea, he used museum money to buy three boats worth $900,000 and to build a $250,000 carriage house for his home in Cape Cod. On the witness stand yesterday, Roberts detailed invoices for other purchases, including artwork, televisions and dockage charges.

Carter also pleaded guilty to trying to convert a $1 million museum life-insurance policy. Authorities say this was particularly egregious because he did it long after he knew he was under investigation.

Carter served as museum president for 17 years. During his final years, he earned $350,000 annually and lived rent-free in the museum's Society Hill townhouse.

Last week, Surrick flatly rejected Carter's attempt to deflect blame to museum elders and donors by alleging that they implicitly encouraged his graft with their own shenanigans and lack of oversight.