Three students who had been issued summonses for the theft of hundreds of copies of The Free Press will not be charged in court.
The decision came last week after Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson decided not to proceed with the case.
“It has been alleged the Greek community on campus intended to deprive the rest of that community from reading disparaging remarks about them in the issue in question,” said Anderson in a press release issued last week. “I sympathize with Mr. Peoples and The Free Press staff over the implications this event had upon the rights of free speech and a free press and I do not condone it.”
But Anderson said that it couldn’t be proven that the suspects weren’t actually trying to purchase the papers.
“We are required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendants had no intention to pay for the copies of The Free Press in their possession.”
Anderson said that despite the fact there is a statement in the paper indicating the cost of additional copies is 5 cents, there are no directions on how or where to pay for them.
Therefore, she said, she couldn’t prove the defendants didn’t intend to pay for the papers.
The three students, Anthony Pergola, Jonathan McCorkill and Cyrus Dulac will not face criminal theft charges, but will go before the Office of Community Standards, which will determine if the University should issue sanctions.
At this point, USM’s police investigation has been referred to the Office of Community Standards, where Assistant to Vice President Steve Nelson is reviewing the case.
“The DA’s decision has no bearing on what my office decides to do,” said Nelson.
“It’s a different set of eyes looking at it now,” added Nelson, who will begin a thorough review of the case this week.
At the conclusion of the case, a full report will not be released. By law, Nelson is only permitted to disclose whether or not sanctions were imposed.
If Nelson decides there is enough evidence, the students could face sanctions such as disciplinary warnings, restitution, and even dismissal.
If found guilty of theft the students will have to pay for the issues that were not returned to The Free Press.
Vice President of Student Development Craig Hutchinson hasn’t reviewed the case to comment specifically, but said “anytime something like this happens, where the lack of freedom of the press is present, something should be done to resolve it.” He said he’s confident that Nelson will do that.
After being confronted by USM Police as he was taking bundles of papers from Luther Bonney Hall on Oct. 29 Pergola said he wanted to buy them. Later, he said he was taking them for a friend in Sigma Iota Sigma.
Pergola, a Sigma Nu brother, later refused to comment.
According to Sigma Nu President Matt Tuscano, Pergola didn’t think he was stealing the papers because Sigma Iota Sigma’s president, Sara Poulin, had told him that she had already paid for the copies he was about to take.
“He [Pergola] took the papers in the middle of the afternoon,” said Tuscano. “It’s not like he was trying to be sneaky about it. Pergola is a genuine, good kid. He goes to every community service event we sponsor. He’s got a good heart.”
Poulin went to The Free Press office shortly after the police caught Pergola. She asked Executive Editor Steve Peoples if she could purchase 1,000 copies of the paper. Peoples said he could have 1,000 additional copies printed for her because he wanted to make sure there were enough copies in circulation for the USM community to read. Poulin left her name and address with the understanding the additional copies could be obtained from the printer.
But late last week, Peoples said he received a letter from Poulin with a check for the cost of 1,000 papers saying that they “were mailed to our inactive members and alumni here in Maine, as well as actives, inactives and alumni of our chapters out of state.”
Peoples said Poulin never indicated she had already taken 1,000 copies of the paper when they spoke.
In her letter, Poulin said that Peoples misunderstood her intentions.
“There seems to have been a misunderstanding in that you thought I wanted 1,000 extra copies printed. I simply wanted to pay for 1,000 copies that were distributed Monday, Oct. 29.”
Though Poulin didn’t say where she got the 1,000 copies that she mailed, Peoples said there were 1,050 copies taken from the Gorham campus on Oct. 29 and he assumed she was referring to those missing papers. The Free Press only distributes 1,050 copies to the Gorham campus.
Aside from her letter to Peoples, Poulin refused to comment.
Altogether there were approximately 2,450 copies of The Free Press taken. 1,000 copies of one issue were discovered missing on Thursday Oct. 25. Then on Monday Oct. 29 there were 1,050 papers taken from the Gorham campus and 400 taken from the Portland campus just minutes after a new issue was put on the racks.
The students who were originally issued summonses for theft were not summonsed in relation to the missing Gorham papers, but for papers they were taking from the Portland campus.
Pergola offered Peoples $14 for bundles of papers he was taking out of Luther Bonney Hall when he was confronted by Peoples and the police. It was later discovered that Pergola had already taken approximately 400 copies from the Woodbury Campus Center.
Peoples said he’s upset that no one has come forward to pay for 1,000 copies of the paper discovered missing on Thursday, Oct. 25.
Anderson indicated there wouldn’t be charges filed for either week.
Tuscano said that he feels the alleged thefts were not committed by the entire Greek community, but by individuals. “I just want to make it known that this was not done on behalf of Sigma Nu, or any other Greek organization,” he said.
Peoples said he plans on meeting with Tuscano and other Greek leaders in the coming weeks to discuss how to improve relations between the paper and the Greek community.
Staff Writer Aimee Risteen can be contacted at: [email protected]