Plea agreement entered in theft from Norlands

LIVERMORE – A plea agreement has been reached in the case of a Dixfield man accused of stealing thousands of dollars from the Washburn-Norlands Living History Center, a state prosecutor said.

The deal calls for Armour Goodman, 35, a former bookkeeper at the center in Livermore, to plead guilty to two counts of theft; the state, in turn, would drop charges of forgery and falsifying private records.

Assistant Attorney General Michael Colleran said the prosecution is asking that Goodman be handed a three-year prison term, with all but nine months suspended, but the defense can argue for a lesser sentence. Goodman also would have to pay $33.583.71 in restitution.

Goodman’s attorney, Woody Hanstein of Farmington, was not immediately available for comment. A plea hearing is scheduled for Nov. 21 in Androscoggin County Superior Court.

Goodman, who was Norlands’ bookkeeper from February 2000 to May 2002, was indicted in March after a state police investigation into nearly $50,000 in missing funds.

Colleran said $33,583.71 is the “amount we believe we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Former Norlands Executive Director Judy Bielecki had spotted irregularities in the center’s financial records in spring 2002. An ensuing audit revealed about $50,000 missing and $200,000 in masked operating losses.

According to court records, Goodman made out checks to himself and several to Norlands-cash.

Center trustees have since adopted financial safeguards and procedures to help prevent future improprieties.