Dana Anderson, who heads four South Portland city departments, has settled a lawsuit accusing him of embezzling more than $37,000 from an athletic association.

Anderson settled for an undisclosed amount of money before the complaint from the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials went to trial on April 6.

Anderson, who heads Public Works, Parks, Recreation and the Library, was a former treasurer for the organization from 1996 to 2003.

One city councilor is calling for Anderson to be put on paid administrative leave while the city conducts an audit of the departments he oversees.

“I would hope the city manager would call for a special council meeting to discuss what direction the city should take concerning Mr. Anderson,” said City Councilor Jim Soule. “I personally would welcome an in-depth audit of his departments immediately. During this time, in my opinion, it would be prudent to remove Mr. Anderson, put him on paid leave, and give him five minutes to leave the premises.”

In court documents in Cumberland County Superior Court, the IAABO alleges that he withdrew money from the IAABO’s account at the York Federal Credit Union, transferred money to his personal savings account and wrote at least one check to himself without accounting for how he spent the money.

Among the allegations is that Anderson wrote IAABO checks to family members and covered his personal golf club dues with money from the athletic organization.

In the court documents, the IAABO also alleges that he failed to maintain adequate records and he destroyed evidence and records.

As the treasurer, Anderson’s duties included keeping financial records, collecting dues and paying bills.

Anderson has maintained his innocence. In a motion to dismiss the complaint, Anderson’s attorney, Thomas Marjerison, argued the complaint lacked specificity, including dates on which the alleged actions occurred, and that his client was not given adequate notice of the allegations against him.

The complaint was filed in May 2008.

Soule said he was not aware of the allegations when they first arose. He said he did make City Manager Jim Gailey aware of rumors he had heard when he was mayor last year, but he wasn’t aware of any action Gailey had taken based on those rumors. He said Gailey has not informed the City Council as a whole of the allegations against Anderson.

For more updates on this story, see next week’s edition of the Current newspaper and The South Portlander news blog.

Dana Anderson, who heads four South Portland city departments, has settled a lawsuit accusing him of embezzling more than $37,000 from an athletic association.

Anderson settled for an undisclosed amount of money before the complaint from the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials went to trial on April 6.

Anderson, who heads Public Works, Parks, Recreation and the Library, was a former treasurer for the organization from 1996 to 2003.

One city councilor is calling for Anderson to be put on paid administrative leave while the city conducts an audit of the departments he oversees.

“I would hope the city manager would call for a special council meeting to discuss what direction the city should take concerning Mr. Anderson,” said City Councilor Jim Soule. “I personally would welcome an in-depth audit of his departments immediately. During this time, in my opinion, it would be prudent to remove Mr. Anderson, put him on paid leave, and give him five minutes to leave the premises.”

In court documents in Cumberland County Superior Court, the IAABO alleges that he withdrew money from the IAABO’s account at the York Federal Credit Union, transferred money to his personal savings account and wrote at least one check to himself without accounting for how he spent the money.

Among the allegations is that Anderson wrote IAABO checks to family members and covered his personal golf club dues with money from the athletic organization.

In the court documents, the IAABO also alleges that he failed to maintain adequate records and he destroyed evidence and records.

As the treasurer, Anderson’s duties included keeping financial records, collecting dues and paying bills.

Anderson has maintained his innocence. In a motion to dismiss the complaint, Anderson’s attorney, Thomas Marjerison, argued the complaint lacked specificity, including dates on which the alleged actions occurred, and that his client was not given adequate notice of the allegations against him.

The complaint was filed in May 2008.

Soule said he was not aware of the allegations when they first arose. He said he did make City Manager Jim Gailey aware of rumors he had heard when he was mayor last year, but he wasn’t aware of any action Gailey had taken based on those rumors. He said Gailey has not informed the City Council as a whole of the allegations against Anderson.

For more updates on this story, see next week’s edition of the Current newspaper and The South Portlander news blog.