PORTLAND — Prosecutors dismissed their case Thursday against one of two members of a prominent South Portland family who were accused of perjury in connection with a towing business and a dispute with police.

The case against Vincent Maietta was dismissed by the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office because of “insufficient evidence,” according to a record of his case in Cumberland County Unified Criminal Court.

The case against his brother, Robert Maietta, also on a charge of perjury, remains pending and is scheduled for a hearing Oct. 31, when his attorneys will move to have his case dismissed.

The brothers, who own Maietta Towing Co. in Scarborough, were indicted in connection with statements they made at hearings this spring into allegations that their company charged a vehicle owner more than allowed under the city ordinance, according to South Portland police.

The hearings were prompted by an incident on March 1, when Maietta Towing charged Alex Anastasoff $1,425 to tow his car from the scene of a crash on Broadway in South Portland, according to a decision issued by City Clerk Susan Mooney.

After the hearings, held March 25 and April 1, Mooney ordered Maietta Towing suspended from the city’s tow list to remove vehicles from the scenes of crashes, arrests or emergencies for six months.

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The clerk also ordered the company to pay a $100 fine and refund Anastasoff the $1,425 he paid.

Neither South Portland records nor court records provide any details about the perjury allegations against the brothers.

The identical indictments against them said that sometime between March 25 and April 22, in Portland or South Portland, they made “a false statement under oath or affirmation or did swear or affirm the truth of a material statement previously made and he did not believe that statement to be true.”

While Vincent Maietta, 55, was cleared of any wrongdoing by the dismissal of his case Thursday, Robert Maietta, 47, faces as much as five years in prison if convicted.

The Maiettas’ lead attorney, Daniel Lilley, did not return a phone message seeking comment.

This week, the brothers’ attorneys, Lilley and Tina Nadeau, filed a motion in each case seeking to have the charge against each one dismissed. The motion for Vincent Maietta’s case was deemed moot, since his case was dismissed. Justice Roland Cole has yet to rule on the motion in Robert Maietta’s case.

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“The indictments, on their face, could not be less clear than they currently read,” Lilley and Nadeau argued in the motions.

If the charge against Robert Maietta is not dismissed, his case is scheduled for trial in late November.

Scott Dolan can be reached at 791-6304 or at:

sdolan@pressherald.com

Twitter: @scottddolan


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