NEWS > 17 December 2006

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Central Maine Morning Sentinel
17 December 2006

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Veteran police officer ousted

SANFORD -- A 22-year veteran of the Sanford Police Department was fired by the town for conduct unbecoming an officer for having a series of extra-marital affairs -- including one with a town official -- and for lying under oath during the course of an investigation, according to a letter from Town Manager Mark Green.
"As a member of the command staff you are charged with helping to lead an organization that, more than most, relies on honesty and personal integrity among its members. Your behavior reflects a blatant disregard for these qualities," Green wrote in a six-page termination letter to Maj. Lyndon Abbott, who was commander of operations, overseeing the patrol division and detectives.

It is the department's second-highest position. Abbott's salary in 2004 was $64,887.

The letter, dated Thursday and released Friday, refers repeatedly to Abbott's "open and notorious involvement in extra-marital relationships" and said Abbott's behavior compromised his ability to do his job. It lays out, in point-by-point fashion, that Abbott admitted telling his wife he was out of town on police work when he was vacationing with another woman in Florida, that his extra-marital affairs were "widely known" within the department, that he involved a fellow department employee in arranging his Florida travel, and that he has demonstrated a pattern of dishonesty.

The letter refers to three women involved in the affairs, although it doesn't name them. One affair lasted three to five years, and the other two occurred within the last six months, according to the letter. It also doesn't identify the employee who, it says, helped him go to Florida.

Abbott plans to file a wrongful discharge lawsuit against the city, according to a letter from his attorney, Gene Libby. He also will argue that the investigation violated his constitutional rights to privacy, free association and due process.

Abbott's home phone number is unlisted and efforts to reach him Saturday were unsuccessful. Green refused to comment on the situation, referring reporters to the letter.

Abbott was placed on administrative leave Oct. 10 for possible breach of professional conduct. The case was investigated first by the Auburn-based law firm of Skelton, Taintor and Abbott, which provided its report to the Police Chief Thomas Jones and to Green. In his letter, Green said Jones had recommended that Abbott be dismissed.

"Mark Green has chosen to terminate (Abbott's) 22 years of distinguished service based on allegations of conduct unrelated to his performance as a police officer or a major in the Sanford Police Department and based in part on the personal dislike of Major Abbott by the chairman of the Sanford town council," Libby wrote, adding that he has a sworn affidavit by a member of the Town Finance Committee that Green had decided to fire Abbott before holding hearings with Abbott.

Council Chairwoman Anne-Marie Mastraccio did not return phone calls Saturday seeking comment.

Green's letter also states that Jones testified that the issue had caused some department employees to lose respect for Abbott. Green notes that Abbott is an internal affairs investigator, a supervisor of troops and sometimes must testify under oath in legal proceedings, all of which require a reputation for being honest and above reproach. Abbott's effectiveness in those areas has been "seriously compromised by your untruthfulness to your superiors and under oath," Green wrote.

Abbott and others in the department were disciplined in 1993 for an issue involving sexual contact with a woman in the community, although it was off-duty and consensual, according to the letter.

"Your conduct has demonstrated that the discipline you received in 1993 was not effective in curbing your behavior," Green wrote.

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Article sourced from

Central Maine Morning Sentinel17 December 2006

Veteran police officer ousted

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Central Maine Morning Sentinel
17 December 2006