The board of the Boothbay Region Refuse Disposal District voted Thursday night to fire its operations manager, after previously suspending him over allegations that he was involved in theft and financial improprieties.
Those allegations have also triggered an investigation by the FBI, which sent agents to raid the district’s transfer station in Boothbay on March 26 — the same day that operations manager Steven Lewis was suspended without pay.
Board members did not make any comments on Thursday before agreeing to terminate Lewis, who also sits on the Boothbay Select Board. Lewis was not present for the meeting of the refuse district board.
Earlier this year, the treasurer of the refuse district discovered “theft and financial improprieties “ at the district and reported them to the FBI, according to minutes from a special meeting that the board held on March 26.
Lewis was implicated in the alleged theft, according to the meeting minutes.
Lewis claimed in March that he knew nothing about the FBI investigation and did not know why he was suspended. More recently, he had appealed his unpaid administrative leave, according to the Boothbay Register.
While the FBI has confirmed that it was doing “routine law enforcement activity” at the transfer station in March, it has not announced any charges.
During its meeting on Thursday, the refuse district’s board voted to send a letter to Lewis notifying him that he will be fired from his position by June 20.
The refuse district operates its transfer station for the towns of Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Southport and Edgecomb.
Jules Walkup is a Report for America corps member. Additional support for this reporting is provided by BDN readers.
