From the story Former Maine Fire Chief pleads to reduced charges in fraud case:
He had been charged with forgery, theft, and aggravated criminal invasion of computer privacy, all of which are felonies. But those charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement he reached with the Hancock County District Attorney’s Office.
The town of Gouldsboro didn't fire Tatum McLean; he resigned and was hired by the town of Winter Harbor last fall, but was soon fired when they learned of the charges. I'm not surprised that he got no jail time. The plea was accepted by Justice Harold (Hal) Stewart II.
Stewart presided over one of my cases in Aroostook County after Justice Hunter had it for about three years before he retired in 2016. Stewart practiced law in Presque Isle, and so did the defendants' lawyer, Norman Trask.
In a letter to me, before Stewart became a judge, Attorney Trask recommended him and another attorney for mediation; I didn't make the connection until a little while after he'd been presiding over the case. Because the Maine Human Rights Commission had already investigated my complaint, I wasn't required to mediate. And, because the defendants showed no interest in settling, I chose not to.
As the deadline to file my request for discovery approached, I was anxious; I had no lawyer and no idea how to do it. Then, Attorney Trask sent me discovery requests, which I answered...and used as a guide to write mine.
To prove that I received less of the pooled tips than other waitresses, I needed the paystubs of waitresses who had worked the same shifts I had. I requested it, but the defendants didn't provide it. I immediately requested a hearing on the discovery dispute, asking for it in open court...then handwriting it while sitting on a bench outside the courtroom. I filed it, and hand delivered a court-stamped copy to Attorney Trask's office that same day.
We were a few years into the case when Attorney Trask claimed I had missed a deadline to file the complaint; however, Judge Hunter had already addressed the issue in my favor at the onset of the case! I had asked for a little leniency because I was working long hours...the deadline had come during potato harvest. Despite Hunter's previous ruling, Stewart dismissed my complaint...then called my request for the discovery hearing "moot."
Before filing a complaint in Superior Court of Aroostook County in 2013, I was required to file one with the Maine Human Rights Commission, I had blown the whistle on my employer regarding unpaid hours and the unequal distribution of pooled tips! Whistleblowers are a class which the MHRC is supposed to protect. The Commission investigated and found No Reasonable Grounds (NRG) to believe that discrimination had occurred.
The Commission dismisses 95% of complaints they receive, and very rarely assist complainants. Just click on any pdf file in the meeting minutes at their website and scroll down to the end. You'll see that nearly almost all cases end in a finding of NRG...that is in favor of the respondent, against the complainant.
