March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Davis extortion trial to begin Tuesday

Former Bangor Mayor Thomas F. Davis Jr., charged with conspiracy, extortion, and falsifying government statements, is expected to take the witness stand on his own behalf when his trial begins Tuesday, March 13, in U.S. District Court in Bangor.

Indicted by a federal grand jury in October 1988, Davis and alleged co-conspirator Karl Anderson of Bangor, a former clerk for a local contractor, will be on trial in connection with the Penquis Community Action Program weatherization fraud case.

If convicted as charged, Davis faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $750,000 fine. Anderson faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

A jury panel will be selected on Tuesday from a pool of about 80 people, with opening arguments expected to be presented immediately afterward. U.S. District Judge Gene Carter will preside over the case, which is expected to take about three weeks to hear.

More than 30 prosecution witnesses are expected to be presented, including three other defendants who already have pleaded guilty to similar charges. The government also is expected to present numerous documents and to show slides of residences that allegedly weren’t weatherized under Davis’ supervision while he was in charge of the Penquis CAP weatherization program.

The defense is expected to argue that Davis didn’t knowingly make false statements and didn’t solicit any extortion payments or other benefits as he is charged. A number of character witnesses also will be introduced on behalf of the defense, according to court documents.

Jay McCloskey, assistant U.S. attorney who will prosecute the case, declined to make any comments about the trial.

“We’re going to defend vigorously,” said defense attorney Lewis V. Vafiades of Bangor, who represents Davis. Commenting this week, Vafiades described the trial as “a difficult case both for prosecution and defense — a lot of witnesses, a lot of exhibits, and many issues of law.”

Defense attorney Harold Friedman of Portland, representing Anderson, called his client “a pillar of the business community” who was “being dragged along in this criminal case.” Friedman said it was “a case in which a government bureaucracy ran an inefficient program — now they’re looking for scapegoats.”

No motions for a change of venue have been filed by either defense attorney. Vafiades said he had considered the issue of changing the site of the trial, “but we decided not to pursue that.” Friedman said he would decide after hearing the court interview the potential jurors.

Davis served as mayor of Bangor from November 1984 to November 1985 before losing his City Council seat. His indictment is not related to any of his city-government activities.

The indictment of Davis and Anderson was the result of a three-year investigation by state and federal authorities into irregularities with the weatherization program. The two defendants were among six people indicted on charges that accused them of conspiring to defraud several federal agencies through the weatherization program, which serves elderly and low-income people in Penobscot and Piscataquis counties, from January 1981 to December 1985.

Also named in the indictment were contractor Berek Dore, former president

of Northern New England Contractors and now of Lake Winola, Pa.; Clark I. Sands of Glenburn, a former Penquis CAP weatherization inspector; and contractor Michael Denton, now of Northampton, Mass.. All three have pleaded guilty and are expected to testify under terms of their plea agreements with the government.

John D. Freese of Bangor, former director of Penquis CAP housing division, also was indicted, but the charges were dropped last month by the government. Freese reportedly underwent two polygraph tests that showed he had no knowledge of the conspiracy.

Davis was accused of assigning weatherization jobs to Dore and Denton, who would report that the work had been done, when in fact it had not been completed. In return for the assignments, Davis allegedly received regular payments of $200 to $300 a week from Dore. Denton supposedly delivered the payments to Davis, and Anderson, as a clerk for NNEC, allegedly concealed the payments through his bookkeeping.

The former mayor also allegedly solicited Dore and his workers to harvest hay and tear down a barn on a farm he owned. In addition, he allegedly had Dore and his workers raise a roof and frame for a second story on his home.

A state investigation into Penquis CAP’s weatherization program began after it was reported in an October 1985 Bangor Daily News story that Dore’s crews had done work on Davis’ farm. A weatherization survey conducted in August 1986 revealed an 87 percent deficiency rate in the completion of work in residences included in the program.

Owing about $200,000 for reinspections, Penquis CAP dismantled the program in May 1987. The weatherization program now is operated by the Eastern Maine Technical College in Bangor.


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