Penn. paper files suit against former MaineToday CEO
Pennsylvania-based Wilkes-Barre Publishing has filed a civil lawsuit against Richard Connor, the former CEO of MaineToday Media, accusing him of failing to repay a $250,000 debt.
According to The Times-Leader, which is owned by Wilkes-Barre Publishing, Connor received $250,123 from the newspaper in cash for personal use and forced the paper to pay his personal credit card bills. Connor and other investors bought The Times-Leader in 2006 for $65 million. Last October, Connor resigned as CEO, editor and publisher of the paper at the same time he resigned as CEO of MaineToday Media. Connor signed documents agreeing to pay back the newspaper's executives the money he used, according to the lawsuit, but he never paid back the loans. The Times-Leader three months ago was bought by a private equity firm for $5 million.
Connor's lawyer, Rick Finberg, told the paper Wilkes-Barre has not responded to his previous requests to provide details on repayment plan, which Connor has allegedly denied, according to the suit. Finberg also implied that the current or former owners of the newspaper owe Connor money.
It's the latest news of a legal battle involving Connor. Last month, he was named a defendant in a bankruptcy proceeding for Brown Publishing Co. Liquidating Trust, which said Connor and his wife owe the company $52,500 for money improperly received. Connor sold the Fort Worth Business Press to Brown Publishing in 2007, and repurchased it in 2010.
Wilkes-Barre was recently ordered to pay the former owner of Katahdin Paper Co. in Millinocket more than $200,000 for 840 tons of paper it received in 2011 but never paid for. Wilkes-Barre President said the nonpayment issue related to the newspaper's former owners, including Connor.
Connor lives in Falmouth, according to the latest lawsuit.
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