Former firefighter guilty in department theft

DOVER-FOXCROFT – A former Brownville Junction firefighter has pleaded guilty to theft by unauthorized taking for stealing $3,200 from the former Brownville Junction Volunteer Fire Department.

Kevin S. Nichols, 38, was sentenced to 15 months in jail with all but 30 days suspended, was placed on probation for two years and was ordered to make restitution of $3,200 to the town of Brownville. Judge Kevin Stitham meted out the sentence on Nov. 8 in 13th District Court.

“It was a significant case that we certainly had to address,” Piscataquis County District Attorney R. Christopher Almy said Monday. “I’m glad we were able to make the town of Brownville whole.”

Nichols, who served as treasurer of the former nonprofit, independent volunteer fire department, took the funds between 1992 and 1996 before the Fire Department became a municipal department.

The funds in the pilfered account were given to the department by the town for fire protection services it provided and were used to pay salaries and other expenses, according to court records. The account went dormant after the department became a municipal function.

The theft was uncovered last December after firefighters decided to close out the account and use the funds, then estimated at $3,800, toward the purchase of a thermal imaging camera, police said.

When another firefighter asked about the account, Nichols reported there was only $259 left, according to a police affidavit. The records indicated that soon after that Nichols removed the $259 and closed out the account.

Nichols told Brownville Town Manager Sophia Wilson later that month that he had some financial problems over the years and had taken money from the account for his own personal use. He reportedly gave her the $259 taken when he had closed the account. Nichols reportedly told Wilson that he had taken about $1,500 over the years and had planned to repay it by cashing in a retirement account.

When he learned of his son’s actions, Wilbur Nichols, then a Brownville selectman, offered to reimburse the town for the missing funds, according to police.

An investigation revealed that Kevin Nichols had written about $3,200 in checks from the Fire Department account to himself.