Ex-Hannaford exec pleads guilty to fraud

PORTLAND – A former vice president of the Hannaford Bros. supermarket chain pleaded guilty Tuesday to mail fraud and tax evasion charges in a scheme in which he defrauded his employer out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Martin T. Greeley, 51, of Scarborough faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court.

Greeley was charged with creating fictitious vendors and authorizing payments from Hannaford to those vendors for services that were never performed. He then deposited checks issued by Hannaford to those vendors into accounts he had created, according to U.S. Attorney Paula Silsby.

During the course of the scheme, Greeley obtained more than $657,000, prosecutors said.

Greeley worked for Hannaford for 26 years, starting as a meat cutter and holding several positions until he became vice president of government relations in 2002.

A sentencing date has not been scheduled.