FARMINGTON, Maine — A Rumford-based lawyer said in Franklin County Superior Court on Friday that he took 100 percent responsibility for phoning in two bomb scares to elementary schools in Wilton in March.
Ronald Hoffman, 53, of Sumner pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges of terrorizing in a plea agreement before Justice Nancy Mills.
Under the agreement, Hoffman was sentenced to 364 days at Franklin County Jail, all suspended, and placed on a one-year administrative release for each charge.
An administrative release is similar to probation, with Hoffman being monitored by the Somerset County District Attorney instead of a probation officer, Somerset County Assistant District Attorney Brent Davis said.
The case is being handled by the Somerset County District Attorney’s Office because Hoffman also practices law in Farmington, Franklin County Assistant District Attorney James Andrews said in July.
Hoffman must have no contact with the school secretaries, not go onto RSU 9 property, take all medications and follow recommendations of his physicians and counselor, continue psychological counseling and report monthly to the Somerset County District Attorney.
He must also make restitution of $5,677.50 to RSU 9 and Wilton, East Dixfield and Farmington public safety departments, along with court costs.
If the case had gone to trial, the state would have shown that on March 29 a call was placed to Academy Hill School. When that line was busy, another call was made to G.D. Cushing School. The caller made a second call to Academy Hill, Davis said.
School secretaries would have testified that a male voice said there was a bomb in the school.
A secretary left the phone off the hook, which allowed Verizon to retrieve the phone number. Police investigations showed the phone had been purchased the day before at Walmart in Mexico. Store photos showed Hoffman purchasing the phone.
Hoffman told police he bought the phone and tried to activate it, but it didn’t work so he threw it away, Davis said.
Darlene Paine, principal of both schools, submitted a three-page statement on the impact to students and staff from the events of March 29. She also told the court about her discipline procedure for students, a form that makes them accept responsibility and consider what was wrong with doing what they did and who they hurt, among other questions. She said she wanted Hoffman held to the same standards as her students.
She also asked the court to treat Hoffman as any other citizen.
School librarian Joan Cook and first-grade teacher Lisa Gagnon relayed how fearful the day was for the young students who didn’t know why they were told to leave the school on the cold spring day.
“It’s something they are not going to forget for a long time,” Gagnon said.
Students at schools in Farmington were also disrupted as the Wilton students arrived. Parents learned of the bomb scare but didn’t know where their children were.
“A plea agreement is not going to deter anyone from doing this again,” said parent Claire Andrews, who is an attorney and a school board member.
The biggest question is “why Wilton,” Paine said. “The community is outraged.”
Hoffman suffers from multiple, severe and chronic diseases, his attorney, James Martemucci, told the court. In March, he said Hoffman was taking 10 medications daily with no monitoring of interaction.
Along with diabetes, he suffers from Graves’ disease, which is an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid, compulsive disorder and depression, he said. There is a Graves’ rage from the disease that can cause irrational behavior, but Martemucci said Hoffman has accepted 100 percent responsibility.
“I apologize to Franklin County. It’s my fault, and I take responsibility,” Hoffman said. “I’m not asking for forgiveness or for anyone to feel sorry for me.”
Hoffman spoke of how his actions deeply affected his wife, two adopted children and a foster child, his colleagues and friends. He also said he was highly sensitive to medications.
Attorneys David Austin, Michael O’Donal and Margo Joly gave words of support for Hoffman.
“My friend is in trouble. I’m asking the court to help him,” Austin said.
Mills explained why she accepted the plea agreement, stating that Hoffman has a clean record, has gotten help and has done much free legal work for the courts. He showed remorse and took responsibility to make sure it won’t happen again, she said.
Sad story. Good decision. Hope he can get on with his life.
That is a ridiculous sentencing. Justice system protecting their own. He got away with this. No jail time. Did he lose his license to practice law? Apparently he is held to a lower level of the law not higher. a common citizen would have been jailed.
He proved he was ill when this occurred. He has taken responsibility and he will have to pay. He will also have to prove on a continuous basis that he is doing the right thing.
If a loved one of yours did something irrational during a illness or crisis, what would you want for them?
Takes 100 % responsibility by pleading no contest. I thought no contest meant “I’m screwed and the deal is to good to pass up”.
Oh judge did you really have to be so hard on the guy. He only scared the crap out of a couple hundred people and now your making him be a good boy for two years. That wasn’t a slap on the wrist, it was a high five.
No contest isn’t a plea deal. It just means you aren’t pleading either way, but throwing yourself to the mercy of the court.
And mercy is exactly what he got with this Judge!
“pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor charges of terrorizing in a plea agreement before Justice Nancy Mills.”
“Mills explained why she accepted the plea agreement” he got a deal
In pleading No Contest, he threw himself on the mercy of the court (Justice Mills).
It doesn’t appear that a deal was brokered between the prosecutor and his lawyer on a guilty plea. The court decided the sentence. It’s oftentimes used when the one charged realizes there is probably enough to find him guilty in a trial.
I do know what a plea of no contest really is. He made a deal with the DA, you think the judge just came up with the restitution for the different fire departments and schools by the seat of her pants. The point of what I was saying is he plead no contest (not admitting guilt or innocence) but taking responsibility for his action.
Her ‘seat of her pants’ sentencing was exactly what I meant with “on the mercy of the court”.
Tho it was a for a FAR lesser charge, I’ve been there, done that.
Actually, Nolle Contendre (no contest) means that you are not admitting guilt, you are just not contesting the charge, usually resulting in a lesser sentence, and this mutt certainly got a lesser sentence.
Exactly what I clumsily was trying to say with my “on the mercy of the court”. It was a plea, but it wasn’t a ‘plea agreement’. I pled the same way in traffic court when I was a kid as I’d heard that I might get a lesser fine. Plus, I knew I was guilty and thought why not? The charge was ‘excessive acceleration’ (in a ’62 Bug!). My defense sounded more than plausible to me. It didn’t work! :)
LOL I could get mine to chirp the wheels when I hit second
When you consider that most modern cars have 200 or 300 hp engines, it’s pretty amazing what those little 40hp bugs could do! I had 4 of them at various times and had about as much fun in them as I did later on in my upgraded version, Porsche 911. If they made one just like the mid 60’s beetle but with airbags and ABS brakes and an actual heater, I’d still be driving one today!
I had a case where as a teen driver I was accused of doing 35 in a 25 zone but honestly didn’t believe I had been going that fast. Supposedly the cop had “clocked me” but he was only behind me for a couple of hundred feet before turning on the blue lights. I had planned to explain all this to the judge but when I got to court and listened to how all the cases prior to me being called were resolved, I had a sudden change of heart. When I finally got called up the judge said “what are you doing here, you must be just trying to get fewer points off your license, right?” I stammered something like, “yeah, that’s it,” he so ruled, and thus ended my criminal career.
Ain’t that the truth! I remember coming down Rt. 1 from PI when it still had all those rollercoaster hills. 4 of us in a ’67 Ghia, saw a car flying up behind us; clocked at 75 mph! Ah-ha, sure. Explained reality of it to the Judge who though it was possible for it to happen. I came back ” I’d like you to try it”. Not Guilty! That was the difference between Presque Isle and Houlton courts. It’s the luck of the draw.
Just this morning, I arranged transport of a 1960 Bug from Illinois to Mass (really!) 51k mile original 36hp engine. At 57, I deserve a toy! It’s identical to my very first car and is ready to go. Somehow, I just have to get rid of my ’65 Westfalia that I parked in my garage back in ’79 to make room for the bug. With all the traffic down here now, I’d rather have at least a gas tank between my toes and the car in front of me! Besides, the bug runs. :)
This is a very very reasonable sentence and fair and just. For god sakes if people can’t see that this man is mentally ill then they are worse off then he is. By the sounds there are safeguards in place for this man and the community now! Wow let’s throw everyone under the bus lol.
Nonsense!
The torches and pitchforks crowd can always be counted on to comment on any sentence as a travesty of justice.
Great. We have a mentally ill lawyer who telephones in bomb threats to schools, lies about it to the police, and then appears in court and says his mental illness can cause irrational behavior. And you say it sounds like there are safeguards.
How do you protect the public, his clients, and the integrity of our justice system from a lawyer like that?
My guess would be the people who heard the case, the district attorney and judge? And the fact he will have supervision that he is taking his meds?..mental illness is real as is domestic violence, rape, murder, theft….all of which can be subdued with supervising or incarceration …I think we are all safe with this attorney not being executed
His license should be suspended. An unsuspecting person could hire him to be his / her lawyer.
You do not yet know that his license won’t be suspended. The Maine bar can’t take action at any time and they usually wait for the conclusion of a criminal investigation until they do. I disagree with you, if this man is “back on his meds” then it would be silly to punish the illness with a loss of income. He is paying for his mistake/ crime already
We don’t know what the Overseers are doing about Hoffman’s case. You say that the bar “can’t take action at any time”, but I doubt that. I’m sure there is a procedure whereby the Supreme Judicial Court can suspend a lawyer on an interim basis in an emergency. I’m not saying that would be appropriate here (It would be, say, if Hoffman suddenly became psychotic).
As for the notion that Hoffman would be “punish[ed]” by a loss of income, that’s not much of a consideration in lawyer disciplinary proceedings. Their main purpose is to protect the public from lawyers who are unfit to practice.
Billie didn’t say it “won’t” be suspended, Billie said is “should” be suspended. Does that help you comprehend their message better? I agree, this person should not be practicing law but in the “great” state of Maine, judges sentence child murder’s to just six years in jail. Who needs more crazy in the legal system?
What a ridiculous “sentence.” Why not just take him to Dairy Queen and buy him an ice cream cone…he’s such a good boy!
What’s the difference between a lawyer and sperm? None. Both have a one-in-a-million chance of becoming a human being.
The endocrine system, of which the thyroid is major part, is responsible for all of our chemical messengers. When just one route gets damaged (Grave’s disease) all of the routes suffer, just as in electrical or electronic circuit.
With medication, medication adjustments as necessary, and proper supervision, this man poses no more of a threat than any one of us, who could suffer a breakdown at any time, for a variety of reasons, some of them being physical in nature, not psychiatric.
This man has taken responsibility for his actions, admitted his irrationality, now it is time to let him pay the price the court has assessed and let him move on with his life.
I am sorry his family was hurt in all of this, they did nothing wrong. This man was ill, and a solution has been put in place. I wish all things would work out so well.
Your comprehension of my statement is lacking. I was saying in general his punishment may yet still be to come with a suspension from the Bar. Not that is should or will or might. or claiming that any other person said that is should would or will.
My OPINION is this man has taken an oath and I do not see where he broke his oath but rather he broke a law and many peoples trust, he still deserves to make a living and I suspect will now that he is back on his meds and stable. I would hire him without any reservations.
we can not all be as perfect as you.
I should have been clearer. I’m not talking about Hoffman as a criminal defendant so much as Hoffman as a practicing lawyer representing clients and appearing in court. I wouldn’t hire him to represent my interests.
If that were you or me, we would be on the way to Warren. If this is not a case of a lawyer (the judge) taking care of another lawyer (the perpetrator) and THEN having the Somerset Co DA’s office “monitor” the perp as opposed to a probation officer, I don’t know what is.
In the dictionary, next to “travesty of justice” is this clown’s (and the judge’s) picture.
I wonder about people who were his clients during the time that he was mentally ill, wondering if they got good legal work from him.
Imagine some poor innocent client of his sitting in jail wondering if maybe this clown was also off his numerous meds during his trial, and that’s why he was found guilty of a crime he didn’t commit. Whether or not that client actually exists, there are sure to be many who will make that claim and it will cost all of us many $$$ in court costs to process the appeals that will spring up. The Maine bar needs to protect itself, and Maine taxpayers, by immediately disbarring him. He can find some other line of work where mental stability and honesty aren’t required (no, that’s not an invitation for all the bad lawyer jokes you’ve ever heard)!
“100 % responsibility”
I guess a lawyer’s version of 100% responsibility means that after you’ve committed the crime and lied to the police about the phone, and they don’t believe you and you’re charged, you lawyer up and make a sweetheart deal for no time and a hedging nolo plea, and then sob to the court about mental and medical conditions and medications, etc. etc.
For a non lawyer, that would be about 30% responsibility.
Try 0%. Lawyers are about 90% of what’s wrong with this country.
I sure hope he’s available if and when I need a lawyer.
The heck with the lawyer….I hope the judge is available when I get sentenced!
Most judges are like that in Maine.
You really gotta be bad like killing a moose or something to get a stiff sentence.
“Trust me, I’m an attorney.”
Now if he were a young black dude off his meds…..would he get “Administrative probation?” G
Before I would get critical, I need to know the status of his law practice. If he had already shut it down voluntarily before these incidents, I would have no problem at all accepting the explanation his defense attorney offered.
Not sure if it’s been said yet, as I haven’t read the comments… but does anyone else find it humorous that this lawyer/defendant was represented by someone else? I’d think a lawyer would defend themselves in court.
Old saying: A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.
The rest of the saying is “and a pompous a@% for an attorney”.
No, lawyers don’t usually represent themselves any more than doctors treat themselves or prescribe meds for themselves. Best to hire someone else who can more objectively handle your case/illness.
They let this guy be a foster parent ?!?!?!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb3IMTJjzfo
The court was to easy on this guy and a few days in the pokey wouldn’t have hurt this good ol’boy. It would however give him a fair sense of what it looks like on the other side of the fence. Lesson learned and a new perspective!!!
Regardless of what the arrangements were regarding any plea agreements it’s very refreshing to see someone stand up and take full responsibility of what he has done and apologize. Maybe our President and other politicians can learn something from Mr. Hoffman.
I wouldn’t call blaming it on his mental condition and meds taking full responsibility.
those diseases the medications side affects well can make someone act out as bad as if they were on bathsalts. when you are on 10 different meds . it was wrong what the guy did but i can understand side affects of different medications. i can understand the depression he suffered . let us see how he does in the next year.
In other words, good ole’ Judge Nancy let another one go. She serves the public well, doesn’t she? What a tender-hearted judge.
exactly! No jail time…are you kidding me?!! Nothing is worth saying about this stupidity. Good ole maine judges and the court system! I don’t give a chit about his meds or mental illness. No one gave a chit about mine and what was going on. Gee, could it be because he was a professional….a lawyer?!!
he should get life.its clear terrorizam of our schools and country and is trison.he should get life.mentally ill or not.
The eyes give it away.
Looks like he just found Glen Close hiding in his closet.