9 nursing assistants cited for lying on applications > Defendants tried to hide their criminal past

BANGOR — The Attorney General’s Office filed charges Wednesday against nine certified nursing assistants who allegedly lied about their criminal records on state registry applications.

The criminal convictions ranged from theft and assault to man- slaughter.

In a criminal complaint filed last month in Maine District Court in Augusta, Attorney General Andrew Ketterer accused the nine nursing assistants of tampering with public records, a Class D misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. All nine defendants, the complaint stated, denied on their applications for placement on the Registry of Certified Nursing Assistants that they had been convicted of a crime.

The nine defendants were arraigned Wednesday.

In a related case, certified nursing assistant Lisa McCrillis of Portland pleaded guilty to similar charges last month in Kennebec County Superior Court. McCrillis, who also answered “no” to the conviction question although she had been convicted numerous times for theft and conspiracy to traffic in drugs, was sentenced to six days in jail.

There are approximately 32,000 certified nursing assistants listed on the registry, according to the Attorney General’s Office. In 1994, the Department of Human Services’ Division of Licensing and Certification, which oversees the registry, began conducting routine criminal record checks through the state Bureau of Identification of all applicants and all certified nursing assistants already on the registry.

Since then, the 13,000 background checks have turned up nearly 700 certified nursing assistants who lied on the conviction question. To decrease the number of people lying on their applications, the Attorney General’s Office is developing a form to be distributed to all prospective certified nursing assistant applicants, which warns them that lying on the state registry application is a criminal offense.

The office also will train instructors of certified nursing assistant courses to teach students the meaning of the term “convicted of a crime.”

While a criminal conviction does not necessarily bar a nursing assistant from certification, CNAs are bound by law to register with the state. This allows a prospective employer to check the background of a CNA and decide whether to hire.

“This is a two-pronged approach — enforcement and education. My office will continue its work to ensure that Maine citizens who reside in nursing homes are cared for by staff who do not have a history of physically or financially exploiting others,” Attorney General Ketterer said.

Those charged Wednesday are:

Darrell G. Carpenter, 38, of Fairfield. He had been convicted of criminal threatening on May 20, 1991.

Tammy L. Farrell, 25, of Wells. She had been convicted of assault on Feb. 8, 1994.

Hugh M. Leighton Jr., 30, of Auburn. He had been convicted of five counts of sexual abuse of a minor on Aug. 1, 1991, and of assault on Aug. 18, 1993.

Irene H. Oliver, 46, of Farmington. She had been convicted of theft by unauthorized taking on May 26, 1989, negotiating a worthless instrument on March 4, 1980, theft on Sept. 25, 1986, and theft by unauthorized taking on May 15, 1990.

Shirley A. Pedroso, 28, of Portland. She had been convicted of drug trafficking on March 29, 1995.

Karen M. Sanborn, 22, of Fairfield. She had been convicted of disorderly conduct on Aug. 27, 1991, and March 24, 1992, and of criminal mischief on July 6, 1993.

Yolanda D. Sanderson, 35, of Windham. She had been convicted of manslaughter on Oct. 18, 1985. She also was known to use two aliases, court documents show.

Donna M. Spaulding, 56, of Bangor. She had been convicted of false representation to Overseer in the Presque Isle District Court on April 30, 1986, and of unemployment fraud on Feb. 17, 1994.

Karen S. Wright, 39, of Waterville. She had been convicted of negotiating a worthless instrument on Sept. 6, 1988; forgery, negotiating a worthless instrument and theft by unauthorized taking on April 10, 1990; and of theft by unauthorized taking on Nov. 26, 1991.