MTA seeks $450K from ex-director
As expected, the Maine Turnpike Authority has filed a lawsuit against its former executive director, seeking nearly $500,000 in improper credit card charges, gift card purchases and vacation pay.
Filed yesterday in Cumberland County Superior Court, the lawsuit alleges Paul Violette redeemed at least $64,800 worth of gift cards for personal use instead of donating them to Maine organizations, some of which were used at expensive hotels in France, Greece and Puerto Rico, the Portland Press Herald reported. Violette also spent more than $140,000 in travel expenses "so extravagant as to constitute a deliberate abuse of the defendant's position," the suit claims. The suit also alleges Violette charged $24,820 in personal expenses to the authority's credit cards from 2003 to 2010, and lied about taking sick and vacation time. The authority paid Violette more than $300,000 in unused time off after he resigned, $161,000 of which MTA is now seeking to recoup.
The lawsuit asks the court to freeze $450,000 worth of Violette's assets to satisfy the claims. Violette's lawyer, Peter DeTroy, declined to comment on the case, citing an ongoing investigation by the state attorney general's office and the potential for criminal charges.
Violette resigned as executive director of the MTA in March amid scrutiny following a government report that questioned the authority's spending.
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