CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — The founder of America's leading supplier of body armor to the U.S. military was sentenced Thursday to 17 years in prison for running a $185 million stock swindle in which he used the proceeds to finance luxuries such as lavish parties featuring Tom Petty, Aerosmith and the Eagles.

David H. Brooks, 58, founder and former chief executive of DHB Industries Inc., was convicted in 2010 of securities fraud and conspiracy. He and the company's former chief operating officer were accused of falsely inflating the value of the inventory of the company's top product, the Interceptor vest, to help meet profit margin projections.

U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert said Thursday that Brooks displayed a total lack of remorse — "not a glimmer, not a whisper, not a moment of regret."

"He attempted to portray himself as a great patriot," she said, attracting investors who thought they were doing something to protect troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. http://www.startribune.com/business/219818721.html