mojjax
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This was in our local News the other day :
A former star athlete at Gardiner Area High School is behind bars, charged with stealing a fortune in coins, paper money and cash from the home of a former legislator in Pittston.
Daniel L. Fortune, 20, of Augusta, and William Darrell Page Jr., 19, of Manchester are accused of stealing a safe containing $30,000 in hundred-dollar bills, rare coins and historic bank notes printed in central Maine between 1800 and 1920.
The safe and other items were stolen from the Pittston home office of William G. Guerrette Jr., who said Friday he is offering a $5,000 reward for recovery of his property.
According to affidavits filed by sheriff's investigators, Guerrette's son, Ryan, 18, hosted an unauthorized party involving alcohol on Nov. 17 while Guerrette and other family members were out of state.
Staying overnight after the party, among others, were Fortune, a former standout football and baseball player at Gardiner; and Page, according to police.
A woman arriving to clean the home the next day found several individuals younger than 21 and empty alcohol bottles in the home, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed with Augusta District Court. The woman called Guerrette, who called police.
A sheriff's deputy interviewed Fortune, Page and another person who were still at the home. The deputy and housekeeper then searched the home and found a small Sentry safe missing from the second-floor office.
Guerrette said the safe contained items worth $175,000 to $200,000, plus $30,200 in $100 bills. The affidavit said the newer bills were Guerrette's winnings as a professional poker player.
When Guerrette returned to Maine from a family vacation, he went to Fortune's apartment in Augusta, where he found the stolen safe in a closet, the affidavit said.
The safe was open and empty, except for a photo of Guerrette at a Las Vegas casino.
Guerrette then contacted the sheriff's office, and they obtained a search warrant.
Seized from Fortune's apartment were the safe, a crowbar, a knife, and a Verizon bill.
Guerrette said Fortune, who graduated from Gardiner Area High School in June, was a friend and teammate of his son's and is familiar with the home and its contents. He said Fortune stayed overnight in the Guerrette home more than two dozen times. Ryan Guerrette graduated from Gardiner Area High School in June.
An arrest warrant for Fortune noted he took a bus to North Carolina and did not return until early December, when he turned himself in to county deputies on Dec. 4.
Fortune told detectives he believed Page had stolen the safe and put it in Fortune's apartment.
Page was arrested at the Greyhound bus depot in Augusta on Dec. 8. He remains in Kennebec County jail in lieu of $50,000 cash bail.
Dennis Jones, an attorney appointed to represent Page, did not return a call for comment on Friday.
Fortune, who has no prior criminal record, also remains in jail in lieu of $3,000 cash bail.
Kevin Sullivan, an attorney representing him, was out of the office on Friday.
According to a news release from Sheriff Randall Liberty, Page has several prior convictions for drug and weapons offenses and two pending warrants from Maryland and North Carolina for possession of drugs and possession of a concealed firearm.
"Very little of the money has been recovered and the investigation reveals that much of the money was used to purchase crack cocaine," Liberty said. "This is another example of drug users stealing from others to feed their illegal drug use."
Guerrette said the collection of obsolete currency included bills printed by banks in central Maine in the early 1800s, and federal currency printed up until 1920.
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A former star athlete at Gardiner Area High School is behind bars, charged with stealing a fortune in coins, paper money and cash from the home of a former legislator in Pittston.
Daniel L. Fortune, 20, of Augusta, and William Darrell Page Jr., 19, of Manchester are accused of stealing a safe containing $30,000 in hundred-dollar bills, rare coins and historic bank notes printed in central Maine between 1800 and 1920.
The safe and other items were stolen from the Pittston home office of William G. Guerrette Jr., who said Friday he is offering a $5,000 reward for recovery of his property.
According to affidavits filed by sheriff's investigators, Guerrette's son, Ryan, 18, hosted an unauthorized party involving alcohol on Nov. 17 while Guerrette and other family members were out of state.
Staying overnight after the party, among others, were Fortune, a former standout football and baseball player at Gardiner; and Page, according to police.
A woman arriving to clean the home the next day found several individuals younger than 21 and empty alcohol bottles in the home, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed with Augusta District Court. The woman called Guerrette, who called police.
A sheriff's deputy interviewed Fortune, Page and another person who were still at the home. The deputy and housekeeper then searched the home and found a small Sentry safe missing from the second-floor office.
Guerrette said the safe contained items worth $175,000 to $200,000, plus $30,200 in $100 bills. The affidavit said the newer bills were Guerrette's winnings as a professional poker player.
When Guerrette returned to Maine from a family vacation, he went to Fortune's apartment in Augusta, where he found the stolen safe in a closet, the affidavit said.
The safe was open and empty, except for a photo of Guerrette at a Las Vegas casino.
Guerrette then contacted the sheriff's office, and they obtained a search warrant.
Seized from Fortune's apartment were the safe, a crowbar, a knife, and a Verizon bill.
Guerrette said Fortune, who graduated from Gardiner Area High School in June, was a friend and teammate of his son's and is familiar with the home and its contents. He said Fortune stayed overnight in the Guerrette home more than two dozen times. Ryan Guerrette graduated from Gardiner Area High School in June.
An arrest warrant for Fortune noted he took a bus to North Carolina and did not return until early December, when he turned himself in to county deputies on Dec. 4.
Fortune told detectives he believed Page had stolen the safe and put it in Fortune's apartment.
Page was arrested at the Greyhound bus depot in Augusta on Dec. 8. He remains in Kennebec County jail in lieu of $50,000 cash bail.
Dennis Jones, an attorney appointed to represent Page, did not return a call for comment on Friday.
Fortune, who has no prior criminal record, also remains in jail in lieu of $3,000 cash bail.
Kevin Sullivan, an attorney representing him, was out of the office on Friday.
According to a news release from Sheriff Randall Liberty, Page has several prior convictions for drug and weapons offenses and two pending warrants from Maryland and North Carolina for possession of drugs and possession of a concealed firearm.
"Very little of the money has been recovered and the investigation reveals that much of the money was used to purchase crack cocaine," Liberty said. "This is another example of drug users stealing from others to feed their illegal drug use."
Guerrette said the collection of obsolete currency included bills printed by banks in central Maine in the early 1800s, and federal currency printed up until 1920.
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