One year after her arrest for allegedly stealing nearly $91,000 from the town of Wiscasset, former Town Clerk Sandra Johnson pleaded "no contest" on Monday, Oct. 26.

Johnson was arrested on Oct. 9, 2008, and was fired the following day. Prior to that, she had been put on administrative leave for several days, after auditors discovered some irregularities in the town’s books during the months of August, September, and October.

Johnson pleaded not guilty to the charge of theft by unauthorized taking last March, but changed her plea to "no contest" during a plea hearing in Lincoln County Superior Court Monday afternoon.

Justice Andrew Horton explained the difference between entering a guilty plea and entering a no contest plea. Although he said they are similar, a no contest plea means "you agree that the court can find you guilty."

While a plea of guilty means "you assume complete responsibility for your actions," a plea of no contest means "you believe the state’s evidence is sufficient to find you guilty," Justice Horton told Johnson.

"The consequence of a no contest plea in sentencing is exactly the same as a plea of guilty," he said.

During the hearing Justice Horton noted that an agreement had been made between District Attorney Geoffrey Rushlau, who prosecuted the case, and Johnson and her attorney, Philip Cohen, to cap the amount of jail time Johnson will serve – a six year sentence, with all but 15 months suspended. No agreement was made on the amount of money Johnson will make in restitution to the town.

"The town of Wiscasset has brought a civil suit against her for the loss of funds and for the cost of the investigation," Rushlau said. Although the town received partial reimbursement from insurance for the money that was stolen, insurance did not cover the extra money the town had to pay the auditing firm, RHR Smith, to investigate the theft.

Justice Horton asked how much money the town lost.

"Just short of $91,000," answered Rushlau.

"There has been no agreement on the amount of restitution?" asked the justice.

"No," Rushlau replied.

"You do have an agreement for a six year sentence with all but 15 months suspended and three years probation?" the justice asked.

"Yes," Rushlau answered.

Justice Horton told Johnson that when her sentencing comes up, "You will be free to ask that all the sentence be suspended." He also told Johnson the amount of restitution will be set when she is sentenced.

Rushlau presented a summary of the state’s evidence, beginning with the discovery by RHR Smith auditor Vernice Evasius during the week of August 11, 2008 that "there appeared to be discrepancies" in the excise tax collection records.

"There appeared to be more money going to the state than the town had been collecting," Rushlau said. Evasius asked Treasurer Jim George "to zero out" the account, then monitor it.

"In September, it was out of balance again," he said. Upon further investigation by the auditor, Rushlau said it became apparent that "there were numerous examples of cash or checks that never appeared in the receipt portion of the software." The town uses TRIO software for accounting and budgeting.

"What happened was there were vehicles that were registered but the money was never received by the town," Rushlau said. Evaisus then went back to previous years and found more discrepancies, he said.

"These registrations were all done by the same person," Rushlau said, because in every case, Johnson’s initials were written on the registrations. The auditors looked back through July 1, 2004 when the TRIO software was first used. Varying amounts were discovered missing each year, Rushlau said, ranging from $10,000 in 2009-2009 to $31,000 in 2006-2007.

"As a result of finding all these discrepancies, the town notified the state," Rushlau said, "but there were no shortages there."

Rushlau said when Johnson was first asked about the missing money, "She agreed she had taken about $4,000, and that it had been going on for about a year."

"She later told [auditor] Ron Smith that it had been going on for about a year and a half. Then in a conversation with Jim George, she said she had taken about $15,000."

"On October 7, 2008 [Wiscasset Police] Lieutenant John Allen met her at her house and asked her how much she had taken. She said she didn’t know. Asked to guess, Johnson said between $30,000 and $35,000."

During that interview, Rushlau said Lieutenant Allen asked Johnson why she had taken the money.

"She said she had gone into a big depression after the loss of her mother and her husband losing his job," Rushlau said. "She said she knew that was no excuse for what she did."

Before and after she entered her plea, Justice Horton asked Johnson a number of questions to make sure she understood the implications of her plea.

"Are you entering this plea voluntarily?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered.

"Have you had enough time to think about this?" he asked.

"Yes," she said.

He asked her if she had had enough time to consult with her lawyer, Philip Cohen, whether her lawyer had explained the consequences of the plea, and whether she was "satisfied with Mr. Cohen’s assistance."

At that point, Johnson began to cry.

"I can see that this is upsetting you – would you like to take a couple of minutes?" he asked. Johnson said no, she wanted to continue. Earlier in the plea hearing, Justice Horton said, "In order to accept your plea, I need to ask you a number of questions." These included her understanding of her rights, including her right to a jury trial during which she would have the right to present evidence and the right to remain silent.

Referring to the two-page acknowledgement of rights submitted to the court by Attorney Cohen,, Justice Horton asked her if this was her signature on the document, and whether she understood it completely. She answered yes to both questions.

Sentencing is expected in early December. The court continued unsecured bail at $20,000.