PORTLAND, Maine — The former head of the Maine Turnpike is expected to plead guilty when he makes his first court appearance since being charged with theft for unauthorized use of turnpike funds.
Former Maine Turnpike Authority Executive Director Paul Violette has a court hearing in Portland on Thursday. He is charged in connection with unauthorized use of turnpike gift cards and using turnpike authority credit cards for personal travel, meals and other expenses.
Violette’s attorney has said Violette has agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a prison sentence not to exceed five years. A sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.
Violette resigned last March after 23 years as executive director amid allegations of lavish spending and misappropriation of turnpike funds.
Forget prison… 5 years hard time… midnight shift…minimum wage…toll both…dressed in orange…with a sign on his chest ” thief; count your change; carefully”.
He would have been better off not paying his taxes for 6 years and being a member of the maine bar association…3 days in jail…30 days cannot practice law….I suspect he will have no jail time in this case…politicl connections run deep and provide cover…
Just a common thief that happens to wear a tie to work. There should be no deal, max time with Bubba is all he deserves
Two charged Democrats from the County! Violette should not be getting his pension/retirement, and he should have to pay back the entire almost half million dollars himself, not just a third or so, plus spend the 5 years in prison. He violated the trust of all Mainers, and pleading guilty gets him a reprieve from what the average Mainer would have to face!
He should get his pension after he severs his time in prison. I know if i want to jail or prison i would lose my retirement while in jail or in prison
That photo of Violette looks like it was taken right after he ran out of KY Jelly, eh?
What a great opportunity for the judge to prove he is not a hack. Think he will use it?
Not if he wants to keep his cut.
“Violette has agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a prison sentence not to exceed five years.” BDN doesn’t even mention in this article whether he is charged criminally or civily, that wouldn’t look good either way for the beloved Liberal agenda.
This is NOT justice, this is an excellent argument for better minimum sentencing guidelines.
I believe that any employee who resigns while under investigation can receive his/her retirement pension because there has not been an actual termination of employment. I know it does not sound appropriate but, he voluntarily left his employment at MTA before being terminated and, is therefore entitled to his pension.
Perhaps Mr. Violette will find the decency of heart that I know he once had and ask the court to use his pension especially while incarcerated to reimburse The State of Maine for his room & board. He duped a lot of people and stole vast sums of money for which he will forever be labeled a criminal, will live with the shame and humiliation of his actions and, will never carry the good name of his Family’s long dedication to Maine.
Nonetheless he is alone accountable for these thefts of The Peoples’ money and should without exception serve the full punishment that the court can impose under Maine law.
You all demand incarceration when the objective of the justice system in a property crime should be restitution. Of couse one should also consider the cost of incarceration of $2200.00 per month in this calculation when looking at a nonviolent crime. So let’s have the State spend another $100,000.00 if he serves 25 months. Prison is for the violent offender. There are many alternatives for nonviolent offenders.
What state our state is in may be illuminated by what this man gets for a sentence.