Opinion ID: 2399048
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: authorization of credit card charges

Text: [¶ 8] Kotredes argues that he was entitled to a judgment of acquittal because the evidence disclosed that the town councilors authorized payments to Key Bank for the charges made by Kotredes on the credit card. Because the town councilors authorized the payments, contends Kotredes, he cannot be guilty of the unauthorized use of the town's property. He relies on the testimony of the former councilors that they had the opportunity to examine the warrants and the credit card bills, and that one of the councilors carefully examined the warrants. [¶ 9] To convict Kotredes of theft, the State had to prove that he exercised unauthorized control over the property of the Town of Millinocket with the intent to deprive it of the property. 17-A M.R.S.A. § 353. [4] At the close of the State's case-in-chief and at the close of all of the evidence, Kotredes moved for a judgment of acquittal. M.R.Crim. P. 29(a). The court properly reserved its ruling until the jury reached its verdict. After the verdict, the court denied the motion. We review a denial of a motion for acquittal by using a sufficiency of the evidence analysis. We view the evidence in the light most favorable to the State to see if any factfinder could rationally find every element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Thompson, 503 A.2d 228, 232 (Me. 1986). [¶ 10] Three former town council members testified at trial. Two testified that they had never authorized Kotredes to use the credit card for cash advances and the third said he had not known that Kotredes took cash advances. They testified that they had not authorized Kotredes to use the credit card for his personal expenses. From the audio tape of the 1995 council meeting concerning the credit card and from other testimony, the jury could have inferred that town employees were not authorized to use the credit card for charging personal items. [¶ 11] Although Kotredes testified that he used the credit card to pay for business-related items and as a means of reimbursing himself for gasoline for town travel and for other town business, his contract with the town required him to submit vouchers to be reimbursed for authorized expenditures. The evidence was that after the first few months as town manager he never submitted vouchers. Kotredes admitted that he used the credit card for personal purchases as well as for reimbursing himself for expenditures that he made while conducting town business. [¶ 12] The warrants used by the town for payment of its bills, including the credit card bills, were in evidence, and the jury was able to see the large volume of town bills appearing on each warrant. Authorization of payment to Key Bank was only one of many expenditures the town councilors considered each month. This evidence was sufficient to support a finding that although the councilors approved the payment of the credit card bills to Key Bank, they did not authorize Kotredes's individual cash advances and numerous other charges. There was sufficient evidence for the jury to find that Kotredes had used the town's credit card for personal cash advances and purchases, which had not been authorized, and that Kotredes intended to deprive the town of the value of the items he charged to the account. Because the State presented sufficient evidence on every element of the offense of theft, the court did not err in denying the motion for acquittal.