Phillips woman ordered to pay $30,000 in restitution

March 28--FARMINGTON -- A Phillips woman was ordered Wednesday to repay a total of $30,000 to the owners of Grant's Kennebago Camps and an insurance company following a restitution hearing.

Deborah Lynn Vitrano, 35, the former manager and bookkeeper for the business, pleaded guilty Monday to stealing more than $10,000 from the owners of the family business in Stetson Township, located near Rangeley, and forging the owner's name on checks.

Deputy District Attorney James Andrews consulted with the owners of Grant's camps numerous times in a witness room, while defense attorney Curtis Rice talked with Vitrano in private at Franklin County Superior Court.

After more than an hour the parties reached an agreement that reduced the $40,000 amount Andrews mentioned as part of state's evidence in court Monday. The number came from a variety of transactions between Nov. 1, 2016, and June 25, 2017, when Vitrano was arrested by state police.

Vitrano had contested the unauthorized amount.

Andrews told the court Wednesday it was a complicated calculation and required credits and deductions on both sides.

Of the $30,000 agreed upon, $20,000 will be paid to owner John Blunt and $10,000 will be paid to the business' insurance company, Andrews said.

A sentencing hearing was set for 2 p.m. Sept. 28 at the Farmington court. Vitrano remains out on bail.

The reason sentencing was set out so far, Justice Robert Mullen said, was to try to maximize Ms. Vitrano's ability to make meaningful restitution.

The partially negotiated sentence recommendation is three years to the Department of Corrections, with a cap of one year to be suspended, followed by three years probation, Andrews said.

There will be also be concurrent sentence for the forgery charge, he said.

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