Former Bangor councilor arrested again
10/3/08 | 10 comments

Former Bangor councilor arrested again


Greene charged with contempt for failure to appear in court
By Dawn Gagnon
BDN Staff
File photo courtesy of Penobscot County Jail
Richard Dennis Greene

BANGOR, Maine — A former Bangor city councilor who served five days in jail this summer for forgery and shoplifting charges was arrested again Thursday, this time on a warrant for a contempt charge connected to his failure to appear at an August court hearing.

Richard Greene, 52, of Bangor was arrested about 2 p.m. Thursday in the parking lot of the Broadway Shopping Center, according to Penobscot County law enforcement officials.

Greene’s arresting officer was Sheriff Glenn Ross, who ran into Greene at the retail center.

“I was driving through the Broadway Shopping Center parking lot,” Ross said Thursday. “I saw him walking across the lot and was aware that a warrant had been issued on him.”

Ross approached Greene, who said he was not aware of the warrant, Ross said. Ross said he verified with dispatchers that the warrant was active and placed Greene under arrest.

Ross said Greene was “very cooperative” during Thursday’s episode.

Greene, who was banned from the Hannaford Supermarket at the shopping center after the shoplifting complaint, told Ross he had just had a haircut. Pierre’s School of Cosmetology is located in the Broadway retail center.

After his arrest, Greene was taken to Penobscot County Jail in Bangor. He was released on bail at about 6:35 p.m., according to jail officials. He was ordered to appear in 3rd District Court in Bangor on Nov. 6.

According to Penobscot County District Attorney R. Christopher Almy, Greene failed to appear at an Aug. 18 hearing related to a civil lawnsuit he lost earlier this year. An arrest warrant for failure to appear was issued on Sept. 23, Almy said Thursday.

Information about the civil matter wasn’t immediately available Thursday.

The legal troubles for Greene began in January, when he was arrested and charged with misdemeanor forgery. Greene was a member of the Bangor City Council at the time.

That charge stemmed from allegations that Greene submitted a bill to the city on which he forged Bangor City Manager Edward Barrett's signature.

According to an investigation by staff from the Maine Attorney General's Office, Greene, a professional photographer and owner of Klyne Studio, submitted an invoice to the city seeking a $9,000 payment for “usage fees” for the public display of nine of the mayoral portraits he had taken dating to 1997-98. The portraits line the halls of the top floor at City Hall.

In May, while Greene was out on bail on the forgery charge, he was arrested after he was caught leaving Hannaford with a bag of merchandise without paying for it, according to police. He was charged with theft for stealing $130.71 in wine, gin and tonic water, frozen pizza and razor refills.

The next month, Greene pleaded no contest to three charges — forgery, theft and violation of condition of release — and was sentenced to five days in jail.

Within hours of his sentencing, Greene resigned from his council position, which will remain unfilled until

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Comments
10 comments on this item
On 10/3/08 at 1:01 AM, HiramMaxim wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

This just shows how big of a douche D.A. Chris Almy is. Almy basically vouched for Mr. Greene by giving him such a light sentence and then waived his fines and court fees because "Mr. Green was facing financial hardship". 95% of the poor schmucks that Almy sentences are facing financial hardships; this is after all Maine we are talking about, yet Almy almost always seeks that maximum in fines and sentences, except if it's a violent crime, then most offenders are given a slap on the wrist. Seriously, what is he still doing serving as district attorney, of TWO counties (Penobscot and Piscataquis) nonetheless? All I read is negative publicity concerning Chris Almy and his unprofessional antics in the courtroom and press (BDN). Unbelievable.

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On 10/3/08 at 8:52 AM, FrankfromBrewer wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Released on bail at 6:35 p.m., arrested for failure to appear on previous charge. Isn't that rather stupid? Will he show this time. I think this nit wit has caused the county/city anough problems. Time he was allowed to sit and reflect.

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On 10/3/08 at 8:56 AM, concerned wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Does it seem to appear to anyone except me, that maybe, just maybe, Greenes problem may be alcoholism? If so, there is help available. There are AA meetings almost everywhere. Maybe Greene needs the support of others he can identify with.

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On 10/3/08 at 9:29 AM, Bangorian wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Still the city council in Bangor has done nothing to address the problem associated with the original arrest. Why are we spending thousands of dollars on portraits of councilors and why are people on the council able to bill the city for services. This is corruption. Don't any of our councilors have the fortitude to stand up to this?

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On 10/3/08 at 10:51 AM, Katofbangor wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Concerned, Mr Greene has "been there and one that". He has gone from being a failry succcessful bussiness man, well dressed and groomed, to a person one would not recognize unless you took a good close look at him. Mr.Greene has burned alot bridges behind him, burned former friends and associates. There is an old saying:"you get what you give". It is unfortunate that he has had to sink to this level instead of addressing his issues in a serious manner and accepting the help that has been offered to him in the past.

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On 10/3/08 at 11:39 PM, Johninphilippines wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

HiramMaxim...what poor quality verbiage you have...do you know what "douche" and "schmuck" really mean?

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On 10/5/08 at 3:26 AM, HiramMaxim wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

No John, I "get off" on using words whose etymology I don't understand. (sarcasm)

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On 10/5/08 at 4:47 PM, Thinkaboutit wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

It seems to me that Mr. Greene may have an underlying metabolic disorder. His behavioral change may not be his fault. It would seem prudent that he have a complete professional mental and physical evaluation. His actions although criminal may be beyond his comprehension. It is apparent that the police department only follows procedure but lacks the training to recognize a potential illness that NORMAL people comprehend.

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On 10/5/08 at 6:51 PM, Tikitorch wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Who cares what his problems are.... WE CAN'T FORCE HELP ON HIM UNLESS HE IS A DANGER TO SOMEONE.... THE ONLY WAY WE CAN FORCE HIM IS IF HE ELECTS TO GET HELP... HE GETS TREATED LIKE ANY OTHER CRIMINAL!!!

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On 10/6/08 at 10:08 AM, Mainelyme wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

HiramMaxim

You would have made an excellent so called arts critic years ago at the News. They had one who didn't know the words he used, also, until he looked them up especially for the occasion. I think that Thinkaboutit has the best suggestion so far. There's obviously something gone wrong with this man, and further testing should be done before Bangor throws him away like it has done to so many other formerly good citizens in the past!

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