One of three teens who stole a skeleton from a local cemetery, took it to a party dressed as Darth Vader, then dumped it in a drainage ditch was sentenced yesterday to five years probation.

Michael Herz, the baby-faced, pierced-lipped defendant, was charged as a youthful offender and pleaded guilty to one count each of cemetery desecration, body stealing and opening graves.

In addition to the probation, Herz, 18, was hit with $4,200 in fines and an additional $1,000 fine for an unrelated charge of attempted grand larceny.

Herz told a reporter he was thankful for the court's leniency - he faced up to four years in prison for each of the three felonies he was charged with.

"It could've been a lot worse. I know that. I could've gone to jail for a long time," said Herz, who served a total of 16 days in Suffolk County Jail. "I would really just like to go back to school and put this all behind me."

As a condition of his probation, Herz will undergo a psychological examination and be subject to narcotics testing, according to the ruling.

Co-defendant Michael Sossi, 17, pleaded guilty earlier this year and received a $250 fine and three years' probation.