PORTLAND – The Maine Supreme Judicial Court unanimously affirmed Tuesday the theft conviction of a former Millinocket town manager but vacated the restitution portion of his sentence.

James Kotredes, 46, of Brewer was sentenced in May 2002 to 364 days in jail with all but 90 days suspended and one year of probation after a jury found him guilty of misusing the town’s credit card.

He also was ordered to reimburse the town more than $15,000 for an audit and to perform 200 hours of community service.

Maine Superior Court Justice Allen Hunter, who presided at the trial and imposed the sentence, had delayed its imposition pending the outcome of the appeal.

Kotredes’ court-appointed attorney, A.J. Greif of Bangor, argued before the justices in October that Kotredes’ conviction should be overturned and cited six legal errors made during the course of his trial.

The state’s high court addressed three of them. The justices concluded that:

. The evidence was sufficient to support Kotredes’ conviction because the town did not authorize him to make personal charges or reimburse himself for business expenses by taking cash advances and charging items.

. His conviction for Class D theft was not barred by the statue of limitations because the evidence would have been sufficient to support a conviction for Class B theft.

. The restitution order lacked statutory authority because the cost of the special audit did not represent an economic loss for which restitution is authorized.

The court did not address the issues Grief raised over Hunter’s jury instructions, incorrect evidentiary rulings or possible “prosecutorial misconduct.”

“It’s pretty much what we expected,” Penobscot County District Attorney Christopher Almy, who prosecuted the case, said of the decision Tuesday. “It’s being sent back to the judge to impose a new sentence. I expect the same sentence but without the restitution order.”

Grief said that he might ask the state’s high court to reconsider its decision on the issue of whether Kotredes had authorization to use the credit card.

“I think the court misread the record, which would be very easy to do. It is voluminous,” the attorney said Tuesday. “I had two counselors testify that the charges were authorized.”

Grief also preserved for a possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court the issue of whether the three-year statute of limitations for a Class D crime had expired when charges were filed. He said that the issue should have gone to the jury rather than be decided by the presiding judge.

Kotredes, who served as town manager of Millinocket between 1993 and 1997, originally was charged with Class B theft, or stealing more than $10,000, and indicted in December 2000.

After nine hours of deliberation in May 2002, however, the jury found Kotredes guilty of Class D theft, meaning jurors found that he stole between $1,000 and $2,000.

Grief, who took the case 20 minutes before the trial began, described his client’s reaction to Tuesday’s decision as “stoic.”

Kotredes has been unemployed since the verdict was announced, according to his attorney.