SOUTH THOMASTON, Maine — Two former members of the South Thomaston Fire Department, including the ex-chief, have issued denials that they have done anything wrong in connection with the alleged disappearance of nearly $15,000 from a firefighters’ association fund.
The town filed a lawsuit two weeks ago against former fire chief Wayne Brown and former firefighter Colin Grierson, accusing them of unjustly enriching themselves with nearly $15,000 that reportedly had been earmarked to help pay for a new fire truck.
In a response filed last week in Rockland District Court on behalf of Brown and Grierson, attorney Walter McKee of Augusta argues that the town has no standing to file the lawsuit.
His clients also deny that the town has asked them repeatedly for the whereabouts of the missing money and deny that they have been evasive. They also deny they had been made aware that the money was to have been used by the town to purchase a pumper truck for the department.
The funds in question had been in bank accounts controlled by the South Thomaston Firemen’s Association, according to the town’s lawsuit. The association voted in May 2007 to dissolve and have any money it had go to the town for the purchase of a fire truck, the suit states.
Further, it indicates that on July 15, 2010, Brown withdrew a total of $14,783 from the association’s accounts.
In the response filed last week, the defendants say there is insufficient information to determine the truth of the allegation that he withdrew the money.
No court hearing date has been set in the case.
The town also referred the matter in April to the Maine attorney general’s office for possible criminal charges, but that office has not commented on whether an investigation is under way or not.
Brown was a member of the firemen’s association until it disbanded. He was fire chief until 2006, when he resigned.
Brown previously told the Bangor Daily News that he does not recall if he withdrew the money. Grierson, who also was a member of the now defunct association, told the BDN last year that he does not know what happened to the money.
The association’s money was raised in a variety of ways, such as by doing controlled burns of fields and catering meals for local events. The money was used for coffee and doughnuts for firefighters when they fought fires, but the overwhelming bulk was set aside for fire equipment.