AUGUSTA, Maine — A federal judge has rejected a former Maine town’s selectwoman’s efforts to keep statements she made to police out of her fraud trial.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk’s decision in the case of former Chelsea selectwoman Carole Swan was made public Friday and reported by the Kennebec Journal in Augusta.
Swan’s charged with extorting money from a contractor while she was selectwoman in the southern Maine town, and of fraudulently inflating the cost of road projects awarded to her husband. She also faces fraud charges relating to income taxes and federal workers compensation benefits.
In issuing her decision, Kravchuk questioned the credibility of statements made by Swan, who claimed in court she couldn’t read or write.
A selectman who served with Swan said some town paperwork practically requires a law degree.
Carole Swan, can you read this?
You are a corrupt public official who stole from the very people whose best interests you had sworn to protect. Now you are shamed and on the way to poverty and prison. This is known as justice, Thief.
So I guess she must be a republican egh?
No idea.
“egh” what kind of word is this? eh?
Not a problem. They have literacy programs in prison, which is right where the thief is headed.
Law degree needed to be a selectperson is a pretty fair assessment
of the state of affairs in town govt. these days.
This ” illiterate” lying , conniving thief will need a bit more legal help
than even a “Philadelphia Lawyer” may be able to provide as this case
goes to trial/sentencing.
She has disgraced her whole family and let down everyone in her town.
Shameful!
Yeah, never did seem that lame tale was going to fly — must be out of rational arguments. Really isn’t the worlds brightest idea to annoy the Courts with such foolishness before sentencing, but then the lawyer will get paid and ain’t going to jail either way.
See these little tidbits that are informative about small things going on in the news around the state? You won’t see them in a bit, because the Bangor Daily has decided to drop the Associated Press service in favor of Reuters. Reuters has no reporters in Maine. The Maine news hole is going to shrink A LOT in a few weeks in this paper.
Can’t get much lower IMHO.
Better to have no news than the liberal bias that BDN shows lately.
Lately ?? Like the last decade or more ! Sadly..
Twenty years is lately to me !
As a former selectman, there is no excuse for any selectman to not understand what something means. The MMA will answer questions and explain at length if necessary, what it’s all about. An embezzler is going to steal and blame it on others. That is what Ms. Swan is. In addition she abused her position and should never be allowed to be in that position again. Her husband should be punished as well if he had even and inkling that things were not quite right. This happens way too often in Maine, is punished far too lightly.
So if she can’t read or write, how did she conduct town business?