ALFRED — The Maine Ethics Commission staff is recommending the Attorney General’s Office investigate the campaign spending of freshman Rep. David Burns after an audit of his publicly funded campaign turned up allegations of misuse of Maine Clean Elections Act funds, submission of falsified receipts and false claims of expenditures.

The five-member Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices is scheduled to take up Burns’ audit at their Nov. 30 meeting and is expected to decide then whether to refer the matter to the Attorney General.

In a report to the ethics commission, Executive Director Jonathan Wayne said three of the findings in the audit report, “describe conduct that appears to be potentially criminal.”

Burns, a Republican, was elected to the Statehouse in 2010, beating out Democrat Diana Waterman by 161 votes for House District 138, which includes Alfred, Limerick, Newfield and Shapleigh. The district had formerly been represented by James Campbell.

Also an Alfred selectman, Burns was a Maine Clean Elections Act candidate for the Legislature. The campaign audit began in March, a draft was forwarded to Burns on Nov. 4, and on Nov. 16, Burns responded to the commission through his attorney, William P. Logan, who is also treasurer of the Maine Republican Party.

Burns did not respond to phone messages seeking comment.

A letter sent to Logan from Wayne outlines the staff’s recommendation that the ethics commission find Burns illegally mingled MCEA funds with personal funds, made false statements, used funds not related to his campaign, substantially mis-reported expenditures, and used MCEA funds to pay for goods received prior to his certification as a MCEA candidate.

According to documents on file at the ethics commission website, Burns was authorized to spend $9,066 in public funds for his election. The audit report concludes he should repay $2,285. The investigation determined Burns spent “at least” $2,500 of public funds for personal purposes, and that at least $1,295 was falsely reported in campaign finance reports.

The findings note that MCEA candidates are required to segregate their campaign funds from their personal funds, but Burns, over the course the campaign, transferred $6,711 in MCEA funds to his personal bank account. About $1,660 was later transferred back from his personal account to his campaign account, auditor Vincent W. Dinan wrote.

As to the $2,500 in campaign money allegedly spent for personal use, Dinan said an examination of Burns’ personal bank records show that if he hadn’t deposited the money into his personal account in June 2010, his personal account would have had a negative balance of more than $2,500, and that Burns’ reports show no campaign purchases that month.

Burns submitted cash register receipts for three purchases, to two restaurants for food and to the weekly newspaper The Reporter for advertising, but called ethics commisison staff two days later and told them the receipts were fabricated by “someone” – he didn’t say who – and that the advertising purchase hadn’t occurred. Burns reportedly told the staff he used cash to pay the restaurants but didn’t get a receipt, according to the audit report.

“Submitting false receipts to a government auditor who is conducting a compliance audit is serious misconduct, particularly in order to support a transaction which the candidate knew to be falsely entered into a financial report,” wrote Dinan, the auditor.

The auditor took note of a $118 restaurant payment in July 2010. Burns explained, through his attorney, that his wife inadvertently used the wrong debit card. Dinan noted he made no apparent effort to repay the money in the remaining three months of the campaign.

Dinan noted two gasoline payments would be duplicates because Burns had already reimbursed himself by claiming mileage.

Burns paid two campaign workers in cash. As well, the audit report states that Burns filed a campaign financial statement on Sept. 6, 2010 stating he paid $635 for 200 signs and stakes, but when asked for documentation he replied by email that “this reporting was a documentation oversight” and that the signs were not purchased, without further explanation.

Wayne, the ethics commission executive director, said Burns’ campaign reported more than $2,000 in mileage reimbursements, which “significantly” exceeded the amounts claimed by any other House candidate.

“While this in itself is no indication of wrong-doing, the auditor believes the commission should be aware of this fact in considering Rep. Burns’ travel reimbursements,” Wayne wrote.

Logan, Burns’ attorney, in correspondence to Wayne, wrote that due to possible submission of the audit report to the Attorney General, he would limit his response.

Logan wrote that Burns’ campaign method of visiting and then revisiting an area contributed to his mileage claims. He said Burns, whose daughter, Angelissa Lewie, was designated his campaign treasurer, kept a mileage log and said payments for campaign-related expenses at two restaurants were made in cash for which he had no receipts. Logan’s letter went on to list several transactions for which Burns did not have receipts.

Burns’ campaign was among 67 chosen randomly for audit, according to Wayne, who said the misconduct alleged is very rare. In 2010, more than 75 percent of MCEA candidates were in full compliance, with no reporting mistakes or missing records. In the past 11 years, Wayne said, two candidates were referred to the Attorney General’s Office for misuse of funds and two for falsifying records to qualify for funding.

Burns was unopposed in his March re-election bid for the Alfred Board of Selectmen.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 or twells@journaltribune.com.