Steve Rocco, the former Orange Unified School District trustee found guilty of swiping a half-full bottle of ketchup from Chapman University, was sentenced today to two years informal probation, fined $150 and ordered to stay away from all Chapman campuses.

Rocco, who has excused his political enemies of setting him up and said he took the bottle to recycle it, said he will appeal the case.

Rocco and his attorney, public defender Erica Gambale, met with Superior Court Judge Jacki C. Brown in closed session before the sentence was handed down. Rocco, who had initially wanted to defend himself, was denied a request this morning to dismiss his attorney and the sentencing went forward.

Brown asked Rocco if he wanted to address the court, but quickly reminded him that anything he said could be used against him by prosecutors.

“I think it’s probably best that I speak somewhere else,” Rocco told the judge.

After the sentencing, Rocco declined to speak to a Register reporter.

A jury found Rocco guilty of one count of petty theft on April 16 after less than one day of deliberation.

Rocco was set to be booked then immediately released from Orange County Jail today, which will give him credit for the minimum sentence of one day served.

For the next two years, Rocco must stay at least 100 yards away from Chapman University, the law school and any Chapman owned property.

In addition to the $150 in fines he must pay, another $100 fine was stayed, meaning Rocco will only have to pay the additional fine if he violates his probation.

Some criticized the District Attorneys Office for spending thousands of dollars to prosecute the case.

“This is the standard sentencing for any petty theft case,” said Assistant District Attorney, Lynda Fernandez, who prosecuted the case. “The same argument could be made for any petty theft case, but our hope all along was to get (Rocco) to staff off the (Chapman) campus … The law entitles him to a jury trial. That’s what he asked for, so that’s what he got.”

As a school board member, Rocco routinely preached about a group he called the Partnership that he says is conspiring against him.

– Eric Carpenter