SOUTH THOMASTON, Maine — The Maine attorney general’s office will not conduct a criminal investigation into the disappearance of nearly $15,000 from a firefighter association.
“We reviewed the matter and closed it on Nov. 24, 2014, having found no basis to conduct a criminal investigation,” state attorney general spokesman Timothy Feeley said Thursday.
The town had forwarded the matter to the attorney general in April 2014 in an effort to recover money town officials said was wrongfully taken in 2010 by two former firefighters. Town Administrator Ann Matlack said Thursday that town officials had been told by the attorney general’s office that the case was dormant but was not aware it had been closed.
The town filed a civil lawsuit in February 2015 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 firetruck.
A mediation session last month between the town and the two men ended without a settlement meaning the case will go to trial at some point.
Brown and Grierson have denied any wrongdoing.
The money 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 firetruck, the suit states.
The town maintains that on July 15, 2010, Brown withdrew a total of $14,783 from the association’s accounts.
Brown served on the town’s volunteer fire department for 42 years and was its chief for 16 years until resigning in April 2006.
This is the second legal battle between the town and the former chief. Brown filed a lawsuit against the town in 2008, claiming he was harassed to the point that he was forced to resign. He also claimed age discrimination. The selectmen denied that claim but in 2010 settled the lawsuit by paying Brown $95,000, of which $80,000 went to his attorneys.
Brown was also a member of the firemen’s association until it disbanded. Brown previously told the BDN that he does not recall if he withdrew the money from the firemen’s association accounts. 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.
Local firefighters raised funds for the association 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 to buy fire equipment.