Ex-plant owner charged with embezzlement
The former owner of a concrete company in South Portland that closed in 2005 has been arrested for allegedly embezzling $28,000 from the company's profit-sharing plan.
James Duhamel and his wife, Teresa, were arrested in Florida on federal charges of stealing money that was supposed to be distributed to the 20 employees of DuraStone Inc., according to the Portland Press Herald. James Duhamel was scheduled to appear at a detention hearing in Fort Myers yesterday, while his wife was released last week after posting a $50,000 bond. If convicted, the couple faces up to five years in prison and fines of as much as $250,000.
DuraStone, which manufactured pre-cast concrete products, was a controversial presence in the Portland area, coming under federal and state environmental scrutiny in 1999 for pollution problems at its site on Milliken Street in Portland and resulting in a $136,000 fine. In 2000, the company closed the Portland location and relocated its 100 employees to a plant in South Portland, and then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy a few months later. In 2002, Duhamel pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of illegal discharge of pollutants, serving probation and paying a $2,500 fine.
Go to the article from the Portland Press Herald >>
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