A former Skowhegan fire chief was sentenced to serve a minimum of three years in a New Hampshire prison this week and ordered to pay back more than $200,000 in embezzled money he used for prescription drugs and a gambling addiction.

Richard E. Fowler Jr., who was fire chief for three months in Skowhegan in 2014, pleaded guilty to a Class A felony theft charge Wednesday in Strafford County Superior Court in Dover, N.H. He will serve three to six years in prison in either Concord or Berlin, Strafford County District Attorney Thomas Velardi said Thursday.

Richard Fowler was fire chief in Skowhegan for three months in 2014. He was fired by the town manager. Contributed photo

The total amount of restitution ordered was $216,000, Velardi said. He said that most of the money went to feed Fowler’s addiction to drugs and gambling.

Fowler’s attorney, John Durkin, said Thursday that Fowler suffered from post traumatic stress disorder from his many years on duty as a firefighter and used the drugs to offset nightmares.

Hired in Skowhegan in May 2014, Fowler was fired Aug. 8 by Town Manager Christine Almand when news of the criminal investigation came to light.

Fowler stole the money from a Farmington, N.H., firefighters relief association account, from which he wrote checks to himself. Velardi said the town of Farmington got checks from a local hospital for paramedic services that were then diverted into the firefighters fund.

Fowler was taken into custody after Wednesday’s guilty plea and sentencing, and he has started serving the prison sentence, Velardi said Wednesday.

“Mr. Fowler told us during the investigation that he had become addicted to narcotics, pain killers and also that (the money) was used to support a gambling habit.”

The theft of money from the firefighters association occurred between Nov. 1, 2009, and June 30, 2014. The theft was reported to authorities by a member of the Farmington, N.H., Fire Department, where Fowler was chief before coming to Skowhegan.

Fowler, 49, was sentenced under a non-negotiated plea agreement reached with New Hampshire state prosecutors. In a non-negotiated plea, the defendant pleads guilty, but there is no agreemant attached as to what the sentence would be.

Fowler originally pleaded not guilty in November to the felony theft charge against him, but later was indicted by a Strafford County grand jury.

Durkin, Fowler’s attorney, said the “situation is a very sad one.”

“Richard loved being a firefighter,” Durkin said. “But he was exposed to a lot of gory, scary, frightening, traumatic scenes – he saved many people over the course of his career, but he lost a few, too.”

Durkin said PTSD, combined with prescriptions for pain medication from injuries suffered in an accident, led to his drug addiction.

“He found that the pain medications for the first time allowed him to sleep without nightmares,” he said. “That was really the birth of his addiction, which eventually, in order to feed that addiction, he diverted money from the fire department.”

Durkin said the sentence was appropriate.

Fowler replaced long-time Skowhegan chief Tom Keene, who was let go by the town in December 2013, after his legs were amputated as a result of diabetes complications.

Shawn Howard, a former department captain, was appointed fire chief by the town manager in September. Howard is also Madison’s fire chief.

Fowler said in court he’d been in treatment for approximately a year, Velardi said.

“There was no disclosure made whether he was on maintenance drugs,” he added.

Velardi said Fowler will be eligible for parole after he has served three years in prison, but could be eligible for administrative home confinement after a year and a half, but that decision will be made by the New Hampshire Department of Corrections.

“When he addressed the court he was extremely remorseful for his actions and any harm that he had caused the town of Farmington,” Velardi said. “The presiding judge said he seemed sincere in that address.”

The fire chief interview committee in Skowhegan last year included the Board of Selectmen – Betty Austin, Newell Graf, Steve Spaulding and Paul York.

Skowhegan Road Commissioner Greg Dore, who was interim town manager during the hiring process, also served on the search committee, as did Howard and Almand, then the town’s human resources director.

Almand said Fowler was vetted before being hired and the interview committee was not alerted to any problems at the time.

“As with all full-time hires, a thorough background check was performed, which included checking references,” Almand said at the time.

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