YORK, Maine — A popular community spot in York will be put on the auction block Thursday. Calling it their dream home, the commander of the American Legion post in York said they can’t afford to stay. Cmdr. Pete Doe is blaming the foreclosure on the man they hired to build the post and help raise money.
According to court documents, veterans at the Legion post in York have won two different cases against 39-year-old Ryan Byther, but it’s still not enough to save Post 56.
“It’s a place to go to for veterans,” Doe said.
The 12,000-square-foot space also has hosted countless weddings, reunions, birthday parties and fundraisers.
“They say it’s a Taj Mahal, but it’s just a beautiful facility,” Doe said.
Now the facility is in foreclosure.
“We try like heck to give back to the community. We’ve been crippled here because of things that happened to us,” Doe said.
Doe said even 28 years in the Air Force couldn’t prepare him for the battle here at home. He said the problems started back in 2008, when they hired general contractor Ryan Byther to build their new legion post.
“It became obvious to us after a certain amount of time that he was not paying the subcontractors. We’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Robin Greene, building committee member, said.
“In order to pay subcontractors who built the building — most of whom were local — we had to take out another mortgage,” Doe added.
A civil case from 2010 shows a judge ordered Byther to pay the legion $1.4 million. The state also brought a criminal case against him, and a jury found him guilty of theft by deception.
According to court documents, while acting as a general contractor, Byther misrepresented himself as an experienced fundraiser. They gave him an up-front payment of $50,000 to manage a $2 million fundraising campaign.
The Office of the Maine Attorney General said Byther had no fundraising experience and raised no money.
“It’s as close to a tragedy as you can get,” Green said.
Byther turned down a request from the CBS 13 I-Team for an on-camera interview.
“I have no information about their financial situation after I was involved with them. I am very regretful of any role I played in their financial difficulties,” Byther said on the phone.
Byther spent about four months in jail. Department of Corrections records show he was ordered to pay back the $50,000 in the criminal case at $163 per month.
A spreadsheet of payments provided by the legion shows it has received less than $5,000.
“We wouldn’t be in the situation we’re in right now,” Doe said regarding the $50,000 theft.
Greene said losing this building will be devastating, but she’s not packing up just yet.
“The best scenario would be someone with a big heart and a bank account to match to buy the building and allow us to remain in the building and do the work we’ve been doing,” Greene said.
The auction was scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday. The town of York will be one of the bidders. Voters have approved buying the building for a new police station.
Legally, Legion Post 56 has done all it can. The state said the restitution process is complicated, based on the defendant’s ability to pay.