BREWER, Maine — The Maine Attorney General’s Office does not intend to pursue charges after reviewing an investigative report that says former Brewer Housing Authority board chairman Calvin Bubar violated state laws back in 2009.
“This office does not plan to initiate any criminal proceedings,” states the Dec. 21 letter from Chief Deputy Attorney General Linda Pistner to City Manager Stephen Bost.
At their Oct. 13, 2009, meeting, City Council members voted to ask the Attorney General’s Office to review a possible conflict of interest involving Bubar, who has maintained all along that he did nothing wrong. Bubar could not be reached for comment late Friday afternoon.
Pistner told the city in 2009 that any possible legal violation involving the land sale did not rise to the level of crime that the agency typically investigates. But she said the Attorney General’s Office “would be happy” to review the results of an independent investigation.
Pistner’s letter said staff members reviewed the substantial investigative report and found a conflict of interest occurred in 2009 when Bubar resigned from the board shortly before selling his land on Chamberlain Street to the housing authority.
The applicable conflict of interest statutes, however, “do not provide for any remedy that this office has the authority to pursue,” the letter said.
“The only available remedy under these particular circumstances is an action seeking to void the purchase of the property, brought by an appropriate party,” Pistner’s letter added.
Bost said Friday that a lot of time and effort — and around $100,000 in expenses — could have been saved if city councilors had known from the start that the attorney general’s hands would be tied by statutory constraints.
“Had the council been told initially … I think the council’s approach would have been different,” the city manager said.
The housing authority is partnering with the Penquis agency to build a $5.14 million, 32-unit senior housing project at 258 Chamberlain St. and recently was awarding the funding through Maine State Housing, the housing authority’s executive director, Gordon Stitham, said Friday.
“We’re putting the 32-unit elderly project on the front part of the property and we’re going to put the community center project … on the back portion of the property,” he said.
People will get to the new community center, which will be paid for by a $2.4 million U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant, by way of Cutler Drive, Stitham said.
The housing authority also recently applied for another $3.2 million HUD loan to convert all of its 154 rental units from oil and electric heat to natural gas, along with a couple of other small projects, Stitham said.
HUD officials also decided in 2009 to review the housing authority’s books to see whether federal funds were used when the authority bought Bubar’s land. HUD’s November 2009 review revealed no federal conflict-of-interest violation, but it did find that the price paid for the land was questionable and that state laws probably were violated.
HUD required a number of corrective actions, and the housing authority agreed to hold procurement policy training and educate board members about their roles and responsibilities and about conflict-of-interest laws and regulations.
Bubar, along with his wife, Nancy, purchased the Chamberlain Street land for $120,000 in mid-September 2007, and he was appointed to the housing authority’s board the next month. In January 2008 Bubar was made chairman and he resigned from the board in July 2009, the day before a purchase and sales agreement for his 4.16-acre Chamberlain Street parcel was signed. The housing authority bought the land for $280,000.
The city hired attorney James Cohen of the Portland law firm Verrill Dana to investigate whether a conflict of interest had occurred. The report, which indicated Bubar had violated the housing authority’s and state’s conflict-of-interest laws, was finished in the spring of 2010 and city councilors sent a copy to the Attorney General’s Office in May of that year.
I guess it matters if the laws broken were important or not, perhaps these laws were only for beginners.
It all depends on who you are.
Trust me…these players are not rookies. All the AG ever had to do was to ask Joe Ferris if any laws had been broken. He was the one who told Bubar how to rip off the city of Brewer without paying the fiddlier. Next time you good ole boys encounter someone who has lost all respect for local government,please don’t have the audacity to scratch your head and wonder why.
“AG’s Office won’t pursue charges in Brewer Housing Authority land purchase”
Just like with all the voter fraud they must be ignoring, NOW, too, right ?
Who’s weak on crime ?
What voter fraud?
The AG’s office was asked to look into it, and concluded that it is a civil issue. The Attorney General represents the State and it’s agency’s in civil matters, not municipalities and their agency’s.
The Secretary of State concluded that there wasn’t any voter fraud.
So, I guess to answer your question, neither one of these , legislatively appointed persons are weak on crime. While every crime is a violation of the law, not every violation of the law is a crime, especially in civil law.
What a bargan thats is only like $162,500 per unit, Is that before cost over runs?? Wish I could afford a house worth what one unit cost. Its must be nice to be able to use your position to make money and not be charged with anything.
I hope they don’t ‘pursue charges’ against me if I ever break our laws.
The Maine conflict of interest law states: “No employee or commissioner of any authority may, within two years of that service … voluntarily acquire any interest, direct or indirect, in any contract, project or property included or planned to be included in any project of that housing authority over which the employee or commissioner has exercised responsibility, control or decisions during tenure with the authority.”
I think that this law is quite specific, but it’s not criminal, which is what the AG investigates primarily. The AG, is essentially the primary and top cop of the state, how many times have you heard ” this is a civil matter”.? I do think that the AG gave them a direction, it’s their fault that they spent that much money, without trying to investigate.
White Collar Crime pays best.
Hmmm…. You’d think State Treasurer and State Housing Board member Poliquin would be all over this case like white on rice……hmmmm…….
People making money off inside inf0rmation, and they get away with it. What a crock. Being in the old boy network really pays off.
Who got bought off?
He used his position, as a public officer, to gain financially. GUILTY! Now to start with the Senate, Congress, and all living presidents.
he must be friends with the baldacci clan.
Old Cal gets off free again ,seen him send his handy man over to one of his apartments and pump the basement out right into the side yard ,8 inches of sewage backed up in the basement right up to the bottem step going downsatirs, due to plugged main in front. anyone else would be in jail.no i dont work for him, just a friend of the ex tenant. unbeleivble
On and btw this is typical of the shennanigans that get pulled in these housing authorites both in brewer and bangor !
I worked for a lumber yard in Holden about 8 years ago. One morning good ol’ Cal walks in looking for a price on Lauan. He said I was too high compared to the competition. I asked him what price he was looking for me to beat, to which he responded…”I would buy from the devil if the price is right”. Classy guy, and perfect for politics in Brewer. I wonder how many of his sick and elderly tenants are freezing this winter because he can’t “afford” to put their heat on