Bill Trotter
Bangor Daily News, Maine
(TNS)
Jan. 18—A new felony charge has been filed against Gouldsboro's former fire chief, who is accused of stealing money from the town before he resigned two years ago, and recent court filings suggest that he was involved in an alleged scheme to bilk the town's emergency medicine program.
Tatum McLean, 52, now is also facing a charge of aggravated criminal invasion of computer privacy, a class C felony that with a conviction can result in a sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
McLean was indicted last summer in Hancock County as part of the same investigation on charges of forgery, unsworn falsification and theft by misapplication of property, all of which are still pending in court. The forgery and theft charges are each felonies subject to the same penalties as the new charge. The unsworn falsification charge is a misdemeanor.
A motion recently filed in court by McLean's defense attorney, Walter McKee of Augusta, reveals new details in the case. McKee is seeking copies of personnel information about another former Gouldsboro Fire Department employee who, according to McKee, is equally or even more involved in the alleged scheme than McLean.
As of Wednesday, there were no charges filed against that person in Hancock County, according to a court clerk.
According to McKee, the other person resigned from the Gouldsboro Fire Department in spring of 2022, which is about a month before McLean resigned from his part-time position in Gouldsboro to take a full-time position as fire chief in the neighboring town of Winter Harbor.
McLean has been on leave as fire chief in Winter Harbor since he was indicted in August, Winter Harbor Town Manager Cathy Carruthers has said. Carruthers did not respond to requests on Tuesday and Wednesday for an update on McLean's employment status.
In the motion, McKee says that McLean and the other person allegedly submitted ineligible or fabricated emergency medical technician stipend reimbursements to Gouldsboro between April 2021 and April 2022. McLean is accused of receiving $9,950 through the allegedly fraudulent scheme, while the other former employee allegedly received nearly $25,000, according to McKee.
McKee is seeking copies of employment records about the other former staffer, which normally are considered confidential records, because those documents are germane and "of paramount importance" to his client's defense.
The other staffer was "a subpar employee" and "was routinely written up, reprimanded, and disciplined," McKee wrote in the motion. The other former employee "is clearly inextricably involved, if not criminally culpable for, what transpired," he added.
Robert Granger, district attorney for Hancock County, did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment about the case.
The Bangor Daily News on Tuesday submitted to Gouldsboro a request under Maine's Freedom of Access Act for copies of final discipline records from the other former employee's personnel file, which are considered public documents. As of Wednesday afternoon, Gouldsboro officials had not yet confirmed whether any such records exist in the town's files.
McLean is scheduled to appear in court for a dispositional hearing on Feb. 22.
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