Panel clears officials in Thomaston land deal
A legislative panel has found no intentional wrongdoing in the now-voided sale of state-owned land in Thomaston to the Maine State Prison warden.
Following a hearing yesterday, the Legislature's Government Oversight Committee determined state officials involved in the deal to sell the land to Patricia Barnhart did not intentionally violate state law, according to the Maine Public Broadcasting Network. Barnhart and her stepson, Sheehan Gallagher, bought a five-acre parcel from the state in April for $175,000, but Attorney General William Schneider voided the sale last month, because state employees are barred from having interest in state contracts. Committee members questioned Barnhart, officials from the Bureau of General Services and a broker with CBRE/The Boulos Co. to find out why the sale was allowed to proceed. Barnhart told the panel she assumed state officials properly scrutinized the deal's legal and ethical ramifications before approving it, the Portland Press Herald reported. The sale of the Thomaston property was included in $1.5 million in anticipated revenue the state used to balance the fiscal year 2011 budget.
Betty Lamoreau, head of the Bureau of General Services, told the committee the bureau has set new procedures to prevent a similar situation in the future. Gov. Paul LePage has signed an executive order directing the Department of Administrative and Financial Services to create internal policy guidelines for the sale of state-owned real estate.
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