A top official at two Maine prisons has been arrested as part of what prosecutors allege was an illegal kickback scheme.
Gerald Merrill Jr. served as deputy superintendent at Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston and Downeast Correctional Facility in Machiasport. But on Tuesday, he was arrested by state police and charged with felony theft as well as bribery following a lengthy audit and investigation.
The attorney general's office alleges that the 61-year-old engaged in a "long-running scheme using state funds to purchase products from certain vendors in exchange for illegal kickback payments." The scheme came to light while a state auditor was reviewing expenditures on all state-issued procurement cards. The state's top auditor, Matt Dunlap, said payments were discovered for things that would typically be part of a contract between the state and a supplier or service provider.
"They saw a repetitive pattern of fairly significant use and identified the card holder and then began reviewing what the card was being used for,” Dunlap said in an interview. "And as a result of that, we found some manifestation of things that we thought were very noticeable maybe should be scrutinized more thoroughly. And we turned it over to the Attorney General’s office."
In a statement, Maine state corrections commissioner Randall Liberty says he was "deeply disturbed by these allegations" but that he fully supports the AG's actions.
“The Maine Department of Corrections expects its employees, like all state employees, to adhere to the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct and failure to do so is unacceptable,” Liberty said. “The department will fully support and assist the Attorney General’s Office in its work, and, working closely with the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, we will ensure appropriate action is taken in response to this serious matter.”
An attorney for Merrill could not be reached for comment on Thursday. According to his LinkedIn page, Merrill has worked at the Maine Department of Corrections since 2012. Mountain View Correctional Facility is a medium- to minimum-security facility located between Bangor and the Moosehead Lake region. Downeast Correctional Facility, meanwhile, is a 48-bed pre-release and minimum-security facility.
Dunlap said the employee in the auditor’s office was reviewing transactions on all procurement cards – which he compared to the digital version of petty cash boxes that businesses use for immediate expenses – that were between $4,950 and $4,999. Dunlap declined to discuss specific details because of the criminal case against Merrill but he said the audit was examining procurement card use across all state agencies.
The attorney general’s office and state police executed search warrants at Merrill’s home and at Mountain View Correctional Facility before taking him into custody and transporting him to the Penobscot County jail.
“These allegations that a public official who is entrusted with the stewardship of public money and the execution of essential government duties has abused that trust for personal gain are disturbing,” Attorney General Aaron Frey said in a statement. “While evidence of public corruption is thankfully rare in Maine, my office, Commissioner Liberty, and Auditor Dunlap take these allegations incredibly seriously.”
Merrill made an initial court appearance in Bangor on Wednesday and is slated to be back in court in October.
