Former Norway official sentenced for embezzling

PARIS – A former community development director in Norway has been handed a two-year prison term for embezzling more than $117,000 from the town over 14 years.

Deborah Wyman, 51, was sentenced Tuesday in Oxford County Superior Court after an unexpected guilty plea.

Wyman was sentenced to 10 years with all but two years suspended, to be followed by three years of probation. Justice Robert Crowley also ordered her to sell real estate, her car and a boat to help repay the town for its losses and the $30,000 in auditing fees accrued during its investigation of the case.

Wyman’s lawyer, Edward Dilworth III, said his client offered apologies to the town.

“It was always her intent to accept responsibility from Day One,” Dilworth said.

The investigation began in January after the recipient of a 1099 tax form from the town said he never received the $5,000 it indicated he had been paid. When a similar discrepancy also turned up, investigators subpoenaed local bank records and found several unauthorized fund transfers from the town’s checking account to Wyman’s personal bank account.

Authorities said Wyman stole and spent the money over a period of at least 14 years and used it to support a luxurious lifestyle that included clothing purchases and vacations.

“She spent it almost as soon as she got it,” Police Chief Rob Federico said Tuesday, but there were no major purchases that might attract attention. “She didn’t show up with a brand new Hummer that really jumped out at you,” he said.

Wyman was cruising in the Caribbean with her boyfriend last March when she was named in an arrest warrant for felony theft. She returned in April and posted $2,500 bail.

According to audit findings released Tuesday, Wyman made 176 illegal transactions during the past 14 years, totaling $117,592. Auditors were unable to find documents before then.

Wyman, who had been living in Waterford, will serve her sentence at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham.