A former Carbon County lawyer, who on Wednesday admitted to robbing a bank of $15,923 last October, will serve 18 to 36 months in state prison.

Steven M. Cormier, 58, of Walnutport and formerly of Nesquehoning, pleaded guilty to robbery, theft, and receiving stolen property. He pleaded nolo contendere to terroristic threats, meaning he did not plead guilty, but acknowledged that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him of that charge.Cormier calmly accepted Schuylkill County Judge James P. Goodman’s sentence.“I’m not the same person I was a year ago,” Cormier said as he left the courtroom.Goodman ordered Cormier to report to the Schuylkill County jail on Oct. 25 to be taken to a state prison.Goodman said Cormier could have faced a maximum sentence of 17 years in prison and a $35,000 fine.According to court testimony and documents, Cormier was struggling with debt when he walked into the Wells Fargo bank in the Fairlane Village Mall, Norwegian Township, at 10:45 a.m. on Oct. 13, 2015.He told employees he wanted money now and if he didn’t get it “things will get ugly.”A teller put the money in a plastic bag Cormier had brought along, and he left.Pottsville city police stopped Cormier a short time later.He was taken to the bank, where three witnesses identified him as the robber.Police found the clothing he was wearing in the robbery, and the plastic bag with all the money in Cormier’s car.State trooper Chad Smith of the Schuylkill Haven barracks charged him with felony counts of robbery, with a threat of immediate serious injury and robbery, demanding money from a financial institution; 12 felony counts of terroristic threats; felony counts of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property; and a misdemeanor count of possession of instruments of crime.Cormier was an attorney for over 30 years and was employed by the Kovatch Corporation in Nesquehoning as in-house legal counsel from August 1984 through May 2015.His mother, Cary Sinclair, at the time told The Associated Press her son had fallen on hard times and lost his job.She said he was taking care of her because she’s disabled.A records check revealed that on Jan. 2, 2015, the Internal Revenue Service filed a tax lien against Cormier alleging he owed $24,354 in back taxes.Cormier was released on $5,000 unsecured bail in January. Goodman had reduced his bail from $100,000 cash.In March, Cormier agreed to be disbarred, submitting a letter of resignation, to the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.On Oct. 23, 2015, the board had suspended Cormier’s license to practice law after he failed to pay a $200 annual fee.His prison term will be followed by 12 months probation.