Councilor charged in forgery Greene remains in post

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BANGOR – City Councilor Richard D. Greene, the former council chairman, has been charged with forging the city manager’s signature to an invoice that would have paid him $9,000 for services.

Greene, 51, was arrested and released from the Penobscot County Jail on his own recognizance Thursday. He is scheduled to appear in 3rd District Court in Bangor on Feb. 7 on the Class D misdemeanor charge.

Bail conditions include no contact with witnesses including City Manager Edward Barrett and Finance Director Deborah Cyr.

That could make it difficult, if not impossible, for Greene to fulfill his duties as a city councilor because the two city administrators routinely attend council meetings.

Greene remains in office. He had not tendered his resignation as of the end of the business day Friday.

Efforts to reach Greene on Friday were not successful.

Bangor attorney Marvin Glazier confirmed Friday afternoon that he was representing Greene in the case, but declined to comment on his client’s behalf.

If convicted, Greene faces up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.

Greene served as chairman of the council last year. He is in the third year of his second three-year term, which expires in November. Under the terms of the city’s term limits provision, Greene would have to take a year off before seeking another term.

At a press conference Friday morning, Penobscot County District Attorney R. Christopher Almy said Greene submitted three invoices to the city last month for photographic services.

Greene is a photographer who operates Klyne Studio from his home at 1186 Essex St.

When he tried to get paid, Almy said, Bangor Finance Director Cyr asked for a signed agreement. So Greene allegedly forged City Manager Barrett’s signature on a usage agreement and submitted it for payment.

The invoice he allegedly forged was for “usage fees” for nine portraits he had taken of former mayors dating back to 1997-98, according to court documents.

He also submitted an invoice for $325 for a portrait of newly elected Councilor Hal Wheeler that he had not yet taken, according to court documents. In addition, Greene sought a $9,500 payment for restoration of the mayoral portraits that line the walls of the third floor of City Hall. Greene had not done that work either.

Greene has not been charged in connection with those invoices.

If he had been paid all the money he was seeking, Greene would have received nearly $19,000. That is almost equal to the more than $20,000 in tax liens that have been attached to the deed to his property, according to records on file with the Penobscot County Registry of Deeds.

Liens filed by the Internal Revenue Service and the Maine Revenue Service indicate that Greene owes the state more than $10,000 in unpaid income taxes for 2004 and 2005. He owes more than $10,000 in back federal taxes for 2002.

In years past, the city has placed liens on Greene’s property, assessed at $384,000, for unpaid property taxes. Greene has paid all his property taxes except for 2007, according to the city.

The investigation that led to the forgery charges was conducted by Detective Peter P. Lizanecz of the Maine Attorney General’s Office. It would have been a conflict of interest for Bangor police to conduct an investigation into the conduct of Bangor elected officials, Almy said.

Cynthia Greene, Greene’s wife, told the detective that her husband was “broke” and “desperate for money right now,” according to court documents. She allegedly told investigators that he had three checking accounts that were overdrawn.

She also said that her husband had told her he would use the money to save their house from foreclosure, according to court documents. She said Greene’s mortgage payment is $2,500 a month and the property taxes are $700 a month, Cynthia Greene allegedly said.

She also told investigators that her husband had lost interest in his business and had quit working.

Almy hinted at the press conference that more charges might be filed against Greene because of his financial difficulties. The district attorney said that merchants to whom Greene owed money should contact his office.

The city’s reaction to word of Greene’s arrest was difficult to assess Friday.

“The Bangor City Council is aware that criminal charges have been brought against Richard Greene, a member of the council,” officials said in a brief news release issued late Friday morning, while the district attorney’s press conference was still under way.

“We have confidence in our judicial system and we will wait for its processes to be completed before coming to any judgment on this matter,” City Council Chairwoman Susan Hawes said. “We urge the public to do the same. Our thoughts are with Councilor Greene and his family at this difficult time.”

Given pending proceedings, the city release concluded, “the city will have no further comment on this matter.”

Neither city staff nor councilors would comment further on the matter later Friday.

Former Councilor Dan Tremble, who also has held the chairman position, did however offer the following comment:

“I don’t in any way minimize what Richard is accused of having done. It seems like [he] has some personal issues that are bigger than this. Hopefully, he can get the help he needs and try to move on and get his life back in order.”

Greene has been paid for doing work for the city in the past. Besides taking councilors’ portraits, Greene was hired about three years ago to photograph the former Bangor Waterworks before it was converted into a housing complex for low-income residents.

Greene submitted a bid for that job, city officials said at the time.

Speaking in general terms, City Solicitor Norman Heitmann said that elected officials “aren’t treated any differently than anyone else” when it comes to doing business with the city.

As it stands, the council has no provisions for removing a member for alleged wrongdoing.

City Clerk Patti Dubois said Friday that council vacancies can arise because of death, resignation and moving outside the city, which would render the councilor ineligible for the elected office.

Councilors also can be removed through the city’s citizen-initiated recall process, which begins with an affidavit to that end signed by 10 residents who are registered voters. Recall advocates then have 60 business days to collect the signatures of 20 percent of the total number of voters who participated in the most recent gubernatorial election.

If a group is able to gather the minimum number, the petitions are forwarded to the City Council, which would then schedule a citywide vote.