A 64-year-old former Maine prison administrator will spend five years in jail and pay more than $500,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to stealing money from the state.
Gerald Merrill pleaded guilty in March to theft and bribery charges and was sentenced Tuesday in Penobscot County Superior Court. He was sentenced to terms in a plea deal, including 10 years in prison for the theft, with all but 5 years suspended, and 5 years to be served concurrently for the bribery charge. He will also serve three years of probation.
Merrill was serving as business manager and deputy superintendent at two Corrections Department facilities, the Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston and the Downeast Correctional Facility in Machiasport, at the time of the thefts between 2014 and 2023, when he was arrested.
Merrill was accused of using state-issued credit cards to pay nearly $2.4 million for maintenance supplies, most of which were not delivered. He then received kickbacks from the vendors.
