DOVER-FOXCROFT, Maine — The former town manager of Milo and former treasurer of Three Rivers Kiwanis who pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $50,000 from the Kiwanis Club was sentenced late Tuesday morning to 60 days in jail.
Jeffrey Gahagan, 57, pleaded guilty in August to Class B theft for stealing from the Kiwanis Club in Milo over the course of three years.
Gahagan fought to hide tears when he addressed the court before being sentenced.
“I stand before you today ashamed, embarrassed, disappointed and full of remorse,” said Gahagan to Justice William Anderson in Piscataquis County Superior Court. “[The Kiwanis Club] entrusted me with the responsibility as treasurer and with the financial well-being of accounts and I failed miserably.
“My actions were inexcusable. I will forever hurt inside for what I’ve done,” said Gahagan. “I feel I have let down members of the Milo community — a community I hold dearly to my heart. I’m truly sorry for my actions.”
Gahagan had already repaid $45,000, the amount originally reported missing from the club’s accounts, before pleading guilty to the theft in August. He still owes $3,828.60 that has since been discovered missing, which must be repaid in a year’s time.
Gahagan’s wife Amber repaid the bulk of the $45,000 through her retirement account, said Gahagan’s attorney Dale Thistle of Newport.
Five members of the community, including current and former Milo selectmen, spoke in defense of Gahagan.
Richard Martin of Milo said he was a friend and former employee of Gahagan’s.
“Before this, he was a model citizen,” said Richard Martin. “It will take him a lifetime to earn back the trust of many.”
Martin noted that Gahagan had stayed in his house and rarely left due to embarrassment, and even let his lawn grow for weeks without mowing it. Martin said he helped get Gahagan out of the house and walked with him. Gahagan had lost 40 pounds since he resigned as both Milo’s town manager and the Kiwanis Club treasurer in April, he said.
Many who spoke in Gahagan’s defense, including his own daughter, said they were stunned to learn of the money he had stolen from the Kiwanis Club.
“We were just as shocked as everyone else,” said Sarah Gahagan, who cried through some of her statement.
She said her father was struggling with what to do about the situation he was in. He even thought about suicide, she said.
“I’m much happier to speak here than at my father’s funeral,” said Sarah Gahagan.
Penobscot County Deputy District Attorney Michael Roberts said Gahagan had been using the Kiwanis Club as his personal bank for a number of years. Gahagan would regularly withdraw money from the club and then redeposit the money without anyone knowing, he said.
The Three Rivers Kiwanis Club of Milo and Brownville changed banks in 2008, said Roberts, forcing Gahagan to borrow money to deposit into the club’s account so no one would notice.
“He didn’t learn from those incidents,” said Roberts.
Much of the nearly $50,000 that Gahagan was charged with stealing was used to pay for his extended family’s needs, said Roberts.
“Not all of it was used for useful purposes,” said Roberts.
He said $16,786 was spent at Hollywood Slots, now Hollywood Casino, in Bangor.
However, Gahagan has no prior criminal history and he “took responsibility when confronted by the Kiwanis and by police,” said Roberts.
Because of that, said Roberts, he requested a cap of nine months in Piscataquis County Jail. Thistle asked for no jail time.
“This is a good man who has done a bad thing,” said Thistle outside the courthouse. “In part, he did a bad thing because he has an addictive behavior.”
Roberts said he was concerned about the court sending the right message that stealing is wrong, no matter how it’s done.
Justice Anderson said Gahagan having repaid most of the money and his loss of status in the community were factors in his decision to order a lighter sentence.
Sixty days “is less than the state wants and more than the defense is asking for,” said Anderson. “[But] I don’t see how anyone could steal $45,000 and not spend time in jail.”
Thistle said that with good behavior, Gahagan likely will spend 50 days in jail. He will not be on probation following his release.
“I stand before you today ashamed, embarrassed, disappointed and full of remorse,” said Gahagan to Justice Anderson.
Of course he does, he was caught.
Oops!
The worst part is that it sounds like his wife, whose retirement savings paid for his theft, is going to get the brunt of it.
If I was her I would have hired a good divorce lawyer instead.
Perhaps she loves her husband, and despite his faults, will stand by his side through all things life has to give, self inflicted or uncontrolable. Money is crap.
“for better, or for worse” –
In a way, he has also stolen from his wife. Too bad.
I wonder how their marriage will hold up after all this?
We all know he cant be trusted.
I doubt she is going to leave him after giving up 45K of her own retirement fund.
What a joke..!!!!..The judge should be the one doing hard time in this case..
We need new judges.
and more jails with better cable TV..!
No we need citizens who stand up. Who go to town meeting and vote. Who go to selectboard meetings and ask questions. Stop placing the responsibility on government, when it is our own fault for not keeping an eye on where our tax dollars go.,
The selectmen have some big nuts to go and speak in his defense. Makes one wonder if they covered up anything that happened with the towns money while Jeff was in charge. He might be a wonderful guy but he made a huge mistake, time and again, and needs to pay the price. His wife paid back the money, he needs to do some time and 50 days is a joke considering it was 50 grand.
Really, he stole money, paid most of it back. Keeping him in jail for longer is just a waste of tax payer money.
So what you saying is mero818,,,if you get got for something like this,,all you need to do is pay the money back and everything is back to normal..sounds like there no need for jails anymore….did you forget..!..that this guy ran a city,someone we trusted..
No At all, but do we really need to waste the tax payer money keeping him lock up for this? Save that room for viloent offenders. His life is ruined, he will never be trusted again.
Though I think instead of him getting three hots and a cot for sixty days they should make him sleep in a homeless shelter at night and during the day do some hard labor, something he is not used to.
Some form of restorative justice would be appropiate.
Wow. Fifty grand from just a small Kiwanis Club in Maine.
Imagine what he could do as our governor’s Secretary of State.
The humble Farmer
Well, isn’t that just a kind and productive comment.
His wife’s retirement fund gone down the drain. She can work till she drops dead now. Who will hire him?
Justice Anderson again. He give thieves a slap on the wrist. An absolutely horrible judge to dish out justice. He needs to be called on his sentences.
What is it in Maine that these types of theft keep recurring? Hasn’t anyone ever taken an accounting course or understand the principle of risk management and internal controls.
These types of crime can easily be prevented by having the proper accounting systems in place that include “proper segregation of duties (separate personnel with authority to authorize a transaction, process the transaction, and review the transaction); physical controls over assets (limited access to inventories or equipment); proper authorization; and appropriate documentation and access to that documentation. ”
I am at the point that every time I see one of these cases, I feel as if the fellow that is convicted shouldn’t have to pay the money back because the organization he or she stole it from was too naive and dumb to have proper controls in place in the first place.
Even if people know that their elected, or hired officials are dishonest…they don’t care enough to stand up. They will gossip in dooryards forever, but don’t show up to fire the offender. What is that all about?
Look at the sentence. At least one of the reasons is that people don’t get enough jail time to really deter them from doing the crime. 60 days is absurd, but that is the type of light sentence white collar criminals get in Maine. And to think, if some poor person who really needed the money had stolen the same amount to feed their family and been unable to repay it that person would have gone away for years.
He paid most of the money back and will suffer from this for the rest of his life. Anything over 60 days is a waste of tax payer dollars.
Didn’t he state that he had spent some of it at the Casino? How many others have stolen money for that habit?
Ah… but money left at the casino goes to the state… well, at least a drop in the bucket goes there…
My guess is that the jails are filled with marijuana users so there is little space for crimes of theft.
Geat comment and very true.
Looks to me that he bought lots of food with the 50k!
Given his age, I doubt this is his first time stealing.
I can’t believe what I’m reading. ” Let he who is without guilt, cast the first stone”. He’ll pay for this the rest of his life. His family too. The club got back their precious money. Save your hatred for the murders,rapist,child molestors and drug dealers. You really want to do something, run for office and change the laws…….
I have to agree with your assessment. The majority of people are affflicted with a rage to punish out of touch with reality. They all scream for jail for the nonviolent yet fail to realize that we are the only civilized western nation that jails people for non violent offenses.
Is that really true that you can embezzle any amount of money and not have to risk going to jail if you live in Canada or a European country? Since Bernie Madoff was non-violent, should he have just had to pay a fine and live with his loss of standing in the community and that would have been an appropriate punishment? I don’t think so.
There is a huge differance here in that Mr. Gahagan has made restitution which should allways be the objective in a property crime such as this. For Mr.Madoff there is no chance for restitution to be made. Again all of the jail, jail crowd miss the point that I did not call for no punishment just that jails are for the violent and dangers to society. But it is sad to say that enlightened views of justice are not the norm here in the State of Maine or in the USA.
Agreed. What he did was horrible but people are burning him at the stake. It sounds like he is
a good guy who had financial problems, got in over his head and resorted to theft to keep his head above water. Not cool but don’t compare him with molesters, rapists and violent criminals!
I’m not an overly religious person but I do believe in forgiveness and compassion.
You would make a good Maine judge. No punishment, just sympathy for the criminal.
And you, jd, would make a good Texas judge…shoot first, ask questions later. Northern justice may not be perfect, but it’s a huge improvement over Southern justice.
I’m just trying to put things into persepective, that’s all. His case is not so different from the recent prostitution case. The families have already endured incredible disgrace and humiliation so just let it go. I don’t understand how others can take such joy in their discontent. Good people make really bad decisions some times.
What the hell is he crying for, he should be thankful for only 60 days.
Tears of joy, what else.
Jeff Gahagan is a good man who made a mistake. Gambling addiction is horrible!
A “good man” would never had put his wife and family in this position in the first place. We all have flaws but it is up to us to fix those flaws.
He was only thinking of himself and most likely has an evil grin on his face while his wife forfiets her retirement.
You know him from what you’ve seen in the media. I’ve known him and his family for years. They love and support him as do most people who know him. He is full of remorse and doing his best to make amends for his actions. I hope if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, you are not judged as harshly as you are judging Jeff.
I am not a thief so one would never find me in this position. It is pure 100% greed that brought him to where he is. Dont be angry at me for leaving a comment about it, there are plenty of others on here who think and say the same thing so perhaps you should address this to” everyone”?
I wonder if he wept that hard while stealing?
Strangely, the crying pose, ya know the glasses off, the tissue routine,well, I almost think, it might look like the Great Gov, after he loses one of his battles to take benefits away from the poor.
Ok, this was not “A” mistake. “A mistake” implies this occurred ONCE. These were repeated thefts over a period of years, and from different organizations. The only saving facts in this whole sordid affair are that he owned up to it when confronted and the money has been, or will be paid back — unfortunately by the wife.
There needed to be some community service imposed as part of the sentence and a period of probation, IMHO.
Sixty freaking days? Is that all he gets????? Municipal pilfering occurs all across the small towns of Maine…..It effects your local taxes directly.
The town I live in has a deeply entrenched bully running the town. People talk about him in dooryards but do nothing because they are afraid. Grown men, afraid. There is no oversight on how towns do business. If the townspeople don’t care, there is no place to go unless you want to spend thousands on a lawyer. Why bother if the townspeople don’t care that their hard earned dollars might end up in the pocket of elected officials or their friends.
If Republicans really want to affect taxation in this state, they should look at how business is done on the town level as well as the state level. But they won’t because most of the town chieftains are Republican. Dirt is ok if it’s your own party.
Why does it seem that most of the recent embezzlement cases, people claim the money went down to the Slots parlor..
So the plea down goes from embezzlement to theft.. elitism at work once again.
Gahagan should get an Oscar for that performance. He’s a thief, a con-man and not to be trusted but since he’s connected, he gets off easy.
Hollywood Slots ding ding ding
Have you ever heard of a town manager or any politician, for that matter, that is not a crook?
60 days? The guy stole $50,000 from a children’s charity because it was convenient, not even out of some sort of deep personal need. He or his family weren’t starving or suffering in some financial way that one could somehow view as extenuating. Then just because he didn’t really need the money, but instead had the cash available to repay his theft, he gets a reduced sentence. Indeed, when he needed the money he was able to get a loan to try to cover his crime. That is disgusting! This seems like another case of a light sentence for anyone who is politically connected in Maine. This was grand theft. If some poor unknown person stole the money they would have gone to jail for years. However, if you’re a politician who just feels so bad then you get your sentence reduced to a two month vacation.
Kiwanis is a good organization that looks out for the betterment of those that need it the most in their community. Members donate their time and money to raise funds for that, not to waist it at the Casino.
I can’t help but think of the poor little boys and girls who desperately needed this money for medical services.
I do agree though, once you are politically connected you are either above the law or get a seriously reduced sentence. I keep saying that the scales of Lady Justice are no longer balanced. A perfect example is David Nutting, our very own Speaker of the House, who stole roughly $1.4 million dollars and blamed it on poor accounting practices. He repaid some of the money then decided it would be easier to declare bankruptcy and keep the rest. He got away with it, free and clear and never a charge against him in a court of law.
Jeff is just human like you and I. He’s faced his peers now back off and shut your pieholes.
His family is the salt of the earth and unless you know him you should refrain from derogatory comments…..just sayin…
Hang tough Jeff …..county folks got your back !!!
i hope he gets his rump beat in jail. hahaha.
Shut our pieholes? Let me tell you something Mister Man, the day you even try to take away my first amendment, or any of them for that matter, is a bad day for you. It’s probably best if you back your little sooty self away, quit playing in the fire and go get cleaned up for the night. Otherwise, you’ll more than likely wet the bed. and If by “County Folks” you mean Municipal, then they better have the backs of taxpayers who are against crimes of this nature and NOT what you just insisted. You and the rest of them folks sure have a big surprise in store if you disagree.
Did you pay or help pay back the money this salt of the earth stole? No? Then you don’t have his back.
Maybe when he gets out you’ll hire him to balance your checkbook, or do your books for your business because I don’t think anyone else will hire him and he owes his wife big.
I’m sure he comes from a fine family, nobody has suggested otherwise. We all DO know him by his actions and sadly, he’s a thief.
Very commendable Mark, but the fact of the matter is he stole money from a charitable organization. That’s about as low as anyone can sink. I hope he gets things under control and can get people’s trust back.
And that is why I stated if I was her. I didn’t state she should have.
Me personally, i’d give my kidney for my ‘ol lady…no matter how wrong she was.
“If I ‘were’ her”, not ‘was’.
And I’m going to leave it as it be just to be annoying to you. HA! HA!
Good-because nobody’s perfected “annoying” like jdtex has, Kevin.
He is a victim of ” addictive behavior ” according to the thief’s
attorney , Dale Thistle.
With that in mind and the fact he had not been caught before
perhaps counseling would be enough to send Mr. Gahagan
a wake up call.
Jail time sounds harsh.
After all it was only $ 50,000.
Sarcasm filter active? If any of the hoi polloi had done this, there would have been several years in jail.
Maybe he was trying to buy Joe Biden-endorsed hair plugs.
Unbelievable…Maine, the way life should be…What a joke..
So in a way he actually was a big donator to the new Bangor auditorium building fund.. He was just making his donations through Hollywood Slots. :/
60 days! for 50,000!
people rob gas stations for a couple of hundred and get years in jail!
True, but robbery usually involves a gun or a knife. Takes it to a different level.
WOW!!!
what a joke
This was copied from the court cases reported by the BDN. I left the name out of it because it really didn’t matter.
John Doe, “Milford, theft by unauthorized taking or transfer, prison three years, six months; two counts burglary, prison three years six months each count, restitution $1,230; theft by unauthorized taking or transfer, jail 30 days.”
If my math is correct this guy will be spending the next 10 years, 7 months in Jail. What makes Jeff so special that he gets 60 days? I cant believe this ruling. The judge and lawyers working this case ought to be ashamed of themselves for recommending such a light sentence. Of course he paid it back. He got caught.
And to all the people that say Jeff is such a great guy, you’re wrong. He’s no better than any other thief.
This is why we have confession and baptismal, life is good! You Libs just don’t get it. Thank you Lord
OOh no.probation ..well of course ..bs
all he got was 60 days and he is crying wa m f wa you should have got 3 years. giving a man in power to take this kind of money a slap on the wrist is a bad thing. hay i could use 50,000 but i would go to jail for years if i did this.
must be something special if it is municipal money. a few years ago a paramedic in Island Falls stole tens of thousands from the local ambulance. a family member repaid $38,000 to the town and this thief never spent one day in jail for his crime
So sad that you can buy your way out of it know a day’s just gose to show you the rich have all the power or the ones stealing to make them self rich do.
Good work, City Fathers of Bangor!
You loved the filthy, tainted lucre from Hollywood Slots more than you loved your fellow man.
The result is another life destroyed — this time the life of an honorable man and a public servant.
I call on the Maine Legislature to draft a law requiring all casinos to make restitution in cases of embezzlement.
Hollywood Slots is responsible, since the slot machines are designed to be addictive.
Further, I call on the principle advertisers of Hollywood Slots, including the Bangor Daily News to also make restitution for the remaining in the amount of $4,000 which Gahagan owes.
Further, I call on the Maine Legislature to re-criminalize casino gambling.
Casino gambling was a criminal enterprise under Maine statutes, and with good reason.
It is time to send them all packing back to Las Vegas.
Gosh Thats an incentive to rob people blind????? hummm????
60 days for stealing nearly $50 thousand dollars? Well isnt that special. Now everyone is going to go out and do it seeing there really isnt any punishment for it. It looks like Hollywood Slots will be getting an influx of new customers soon. Way to go justice system!
I don’t understand why these organizations don’t do any kind of audits. It is ridiculous and the people handling this amout of money would want this if they are honest.
Audits cost money!
Someone better call the whambulance, sweet jesus people get more time for a bag of pot.
When a gambler says he lost $16,000+ at a casino, all therapists know to double that number (at least.) The Judge should have considered parole, with gambling therapy as a condition of parole.
Addictions like gambling are difficult to get at the causal root – Mr. Gahagan could benefit from counseling since he needs to understand the factors that prompted his behavior. 50 or 60 days in jail will do nothing to help this man. I know a couple of gamblers who have been under control for years, once they figured out the causal factors involved in their addiction, and learned how to avoid triggers.
A few tears and stating he was embarrassed, etc. in the courtroom gave him a reduced sentence. He knew what he was doing, and he did not turn himself in–someone had to catch the missing funds in the reports, perhaps?
TV news stated that it was because of gambling debts–no reference to helping extended family. Perhaps the extended family should be helping to pay back that which was stolen.
He is a THIEF, not a model citizen!
I just stole close to $50,000, I will miss my family friends, and anyone I talked to on the internet for the next 60 days, because after all, that is the punishment for stealing so much money right? (sarcasm)
He got 60 days for $50,000 and this person got 6 months for $28,000….why is that? Twice as much stolen and 1/3 of the time for it!
http://bangor-launch.newspackstaging.com/2012/10/25/news/bangor/ex-employee-gets-6-months-for-stealing-over-28000-from-hermon-school-department/