A Westminster man with a 20-year criminal record went to jail Thursday for faking a state seal on engineering credentials to get a job with a Columbia company.
A contrite Lawrence D. Novakowski, 52, got an 18-month sentence in the Howard County Detention Center with a chance for work release. Novakowski had pleaded guilty in April.
A complaint by an engineering firm in Baltimore County triggered the state investigation that led to Novakowski's conviction. Investigators found he had used a counterfeited public seal to show he was a licensed Maryland engineer. When confronted, he said he had lost his license over a child support issue, according to prosecutors. Later, he produced a letter from the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation saying his suspension had been lifted. The letter was signed by a nonexistent person, Prosecutor Kim Oldham said in April.
Oldham said the deceptions forced the engineering firm to pay back clients' fees and pull out of several projects at the last minute. The problems cost the firm more than $100,000, plus a loss of professional credibility, she said. Prosecutors declined to reveal the name of the firm.
Further investigation showed Novakowski was using a license number that expired in 2001 and that he had a fake college diploma, plus fake engineering licenses from two other states.
The sentence was handed down by Judge Timothy J. McCrone, who said he was moved by Novakowski's lawyer's request to bypass a requested two-year state prison term. The shorter sentence gives Novakowski a chance to obtain work release status and provide health insurance for a daughter in college, he said.
McCrone imposed an eight-year sentence with all but 18 months suspended. He added three years probation, a $500 fine and 100 hours of community service.
"I am very mindful of the injury you inflicted on your employer," McCrone said, adding that Novakowski would likely serve more actual time in county custody than in state prison for the nonviolent crime.
Novakowski's criminal record stretches back to 1990 for a variety of crimes of deception, Oldham said, and he has five felonies on his record, including bigamy. Defense attorney Louis P. Willemin blamed the crimes on "manic episodes" caused by bi-polar disorder and said his client is now under treatment and on medication.
McCrone refused Novakowski's request to delay jail until Aug. 2 so he could see off a son headed to Afghanistan with the Army. Novakowski apologized to his family, his former employer and to the judge for his crimes.
"At the time they need me the most, I do this again," he said about his children.
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