BANGOR – City Councilor Richard Greene resigned Tuesday after being sentenced earlier in the day to five days in jail on forgery and shoplifting charges.

Greene, 52, will begin serving his sentence Monday.

He pleaded no contest at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday in 3rd District Court to three charges – forgery, theft and violation of condition of release. His resignation was announced by city officials shortly after 11 a.m.

Greene resigned “effective immediately” in a two-

paragraph letter dated Monday and addressed to City Council Chairwoman Susan M. Hawes. The letter was written on stationery for Klyne Studio, the photography business Greene runs from his home on Essex Street.

Hawes said that she received Greene’s letter Tuesday morning.

“As a life long member of this great city, I have been and

continue to be passionate about its history and it being a unique place in this state,” Greene wrote in his resignation letter. “I appreciate the opportunity to serve over these past 5 1/2 years. My best wishes for the city to continue to be such a special place.”

The city’s charter limits councilors to two consecutive three-year terms. After a one-year absence from office a person can seek another term.

Greene’s position will be filled in the November election, Hawes said in announcing Greene’s resignation.

“Richard Greene served the city well during the majority of his time on the Bangor City Council,” she said. “While recognizing recent difficulties, we wish Richard well in the future, and our thoughts are with him and his family during this difficult time.

“The City Council has operated effectively over the last five months, a period when Mr. Greene was unable to attend meetings,” she continued, “and I anticipate that we will continue to do so until a replacement is elected in November.”

Greene was arrested Jan. 10 and charged with forging City Manager Edward Barrett’s signature on an invoice. Last month, while out on bail on that charge, Greene was caught stealing more than $130 worth of merchandise from the Hannaford Supermarket on Broadway.

He was scheduled to be tried before District Court Judge Jessie Gunther at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday in 3rd District Court on the forgery charge and at 1 p.m. enter pleas on the other charges.

Instead, in a plea agreement with the Penobscot County District Attorney’s Office, Greene pleaded no contest to all three charges instead of going to trial. Assistant District Attorney James Diehl, who prosecuted the case, recommended Greene be sentenced to five days in jail on the forgery charge and five days on the other charges to be served concurrently.

A no contest plea results in a conviction just as a guilty plea would.

The judge accepted the plea agreement, imposed the five-day sentence and granted Greene’s request to stay the execution of his sentence until 9 a.m. Monday. His bail conditions remain in place until then.

Greene did not speak to the judge during his five-minute court appearance, except to enter his pleas, nor did he speak to the media afterward.

It’s unlikely Greene, who does not have a criminal record, would have been sentenced to jail time if he had not been an elected official. He most likely would have been ordered to pay fines, Diehl said.

“We felt it was appropriate he be sentenced to five days in jail,” Penobscot County District Attorney R. Christopher Almy said after the sentencing, “because he is a public official using his position as a public official to gain a financial advantage.”

Almy said that his office did not ask that a fine be imposed because Greene “has financial problems.”

The forgery charge stemmed from an investigation by the Maine Attorney General’s Office after Greene submitted an invoice to the city seeking a $9,000 payment for “usage fees” for the public display of nine of the mayoral portraits he had taken dating to 1997-98. The portraits line the halls of the top floor at City Hall.

Greene never received payment for the forged invoice.

During a brief telephone interview on Jan. 22, he told the Bangor Daily News that he would fight the charges and that he would be “vindicated of all claims.”

Before leaving the courthouse Tuesday, Greene paid the mandatory $30 victim compensation fee that goes into a fund to reimburse victims for lost wages and medical expenses they incur as a result of a crime.

jharrison@bangordailynews.net

990-8207