FAYETTE – A former deputy treasurer for the town will serve 10 days of a one-year sentence in Kennebec County Jail. Linda C. Burdo, 52, of Jay pleaded guilty to felony theft Tuesday for stealing $3,299 in cash and about $6,500 in checks from the Fayette Town Office in 2000.
The checks were never cashed but apparently destroyed.
Both Kennebec and Somerset County District Attorney Evert Fowle and Burdo’s attorney, Woody Hanstein, said the act was out of character for the woman who has donated a lot of time to community organizations. Both also said Burdo was “very remorseful” for what she did.
It was Burdo’s first offense. She was unavailable for comment Wednesday.
Justice Donald H. Marden rejected state prosecutors’ recommendation for Burdo to serve 30 days of the one-year sentence in jail, Fowle said. Instead, the justice reduced that amount to 10 days, he said, and gave her two years probation.
Marden also ordered Burdo to pay up to $15,000 in restitution to cover cash taken, the town’s audit, attorneys fees and any checks that are not rewritten by townspeople.
Fowle said Burdo paid restitution to the town Tuesday in the amount of $6,958, which covered all the cash taken, the cost of the audit and attorney fees. If townspeople do not rewrite their checks that they submitted for payment for certain services such as snowmobile registrations, Burdo will be responsible to reimburse the town for those, Fowle said.
Former Town Manager Louise Simmons was “very alert” and noticed financial irregularities, Fowle said, which prompted an audit. Auditors were able to specify two dates – Feb. 4 and July 7 of 2000 that receipts and deposits didn’t match up.
Initially, Burdo said she didn’t do it but would pay for it, Fowle said, which sent up a “red flag” alert. But when Kennebec County Sheriff’s deputies confronted her, she admitted to taking the money, Fowle said.
From then on, Burdo was clearly interested in paying back the money and taking her punishment, he said. The town wanted Burdo to be charged with a felony crime, even though Hanstein said he tried to get the crime lowered to a misdemeanor because the dollar amount taken was close enough to the misdemeanor/felony determination line and it being her first offense.
“Obviously, she shocked the trust of a small town, we thought 30 days (in jail) would be appropriate,” Fowle said. “It appears to be completely out of character for her. She didn’t offer any explanation to authorities except that she did something terribly wrong. She confessed and contacted our office several times and wanted to plead guilty and pay restitution.”
But the system doesn’t work that way.
“She had a desire to take her punishment,” he said. “There are a lot of people out there solely interested in (getting a lesser punishment)… I do think with Ms. Burdo, her remorse was genuine.”
Hanstein said he thought the judge’s sentence reflected that Burdo has led, except for this, an “exemplary life with a lot of public service.
She thought of others before herself, Hanstein said, and this was “very out of character for her.”
Hanstein said Burdo has done a lot of public service, including volunteering with Meals on Wheels, food pantries and working with her church.
“I think one of the things the judge looked at” Hanstein said, prior to sentencing was how quick Burdo stepped up to the plate and took responsibility for her actions.
Marden gave Burdo a stay until Friday to start serving her sentence.
dperry@sunjournal.com
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