A charge of Class C theft by extortion – the sole charge against former Damariscotta Bank & Trust Vice President Roger Smith – was dismissed May 26.
The district attorney’s office and the Damariscotta Police Dept. will, however, continue to investigate the course of events leading to Smith’s dismissal from the bank and subsequent arrest, District Attorney Geoff Rushlau said.
Law enforcement officials allege that Smith, 46, of Gardiner, stole nearly $30,000 by taking out loans in customers’ names.
Rushlau and Assistant District Attorney Deborah Cashman described the court’s action as a “procedural dismissal.”
The court clerk’s office has the authority to automatically dismiss charges if a case has not been presented to a grand jury after a set number of sessions, Rushlau said. The district attorney’s office, meanwhile, can dismiss charges at any time.
The district attorney’s office can still prosecute Smith – or anyone – “as long as there hasn’t been a trial,” Rushlau said.
In this case, the “paperwork intensive” investigation is delaying the prosecution, partly because the investigating officer, Damariscotta Police Chief Steve Drake, has been on paid administrative leave for nearly two months, Rushlau said.
Rushlau said he “ordinarily would not present the case to a grand jury” without evidence of the “quality” necessary to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Denise Benner, another former DB&T employee who, in a related case, faces a charge of Class C theft by unauthorized taking or transfer, is scheduled to appear in Lincoln County Superior Court Thurs., June 30.
The District Attorney’s office is waiting on the results of forensic accounting in Benner’s case.
(Samuel J. Baldwin contributed reporting to this article.)
