A prominent Portland businessman whose private company operates thousands of parking spaces in the high-demand downtown area was arrested over the weekend in one of his own parking lots on a cocaine possession charge.

Daniel McNutt, 38, of Falmouth, was arrested shortly before midnight Saturday in a parking lot at 385 Congress St., next to City Hall, according to Lt. James Sweatt, a spokesman for the Portland Police Department.

McNutt’s business, Unified Parking Partners, came under criticism last year for the company’s practice of “booting” vehicles left in its lots beyond their prepaid time. The company operates roughly 40 lots and garages in Portland, including 16 pay-and-display lots downtown.

Since the business started in 2013, the Better Business Bureau has received seven complaints from customers accusing the company of issues ranging from false advertising to predatory practices. The company also has mostly negative reviews on Yelp, an online service for rating businesses.

Sweatt declined to release further details about McNutt’s arrest other than to confirm the time, date, location and charge. He would not release a police report detailing what happened.

McNutt was booked at the Cumberland County Jail in Portland early Sunday morning on the misdemeanor charge and released on $150 bail. He is scheduled to appear in court on July 7, according to the jail.

McNutt, reached by phone on Wednesday, declined to comment on his arrest. His attorney, Gerard Conley Jr., did not return a phone message seeking comment.

Unified Parking Partners has been the subject of complaints for its business model, but the company is not breaking any laws, according to city officials.

Customers pay for their parking time in advance. Hourly rates vary by lot and season, but are similar to other private parking structures, ranging up to $5 an hour. If a customer is more than 20 minutes overdue, a company employee may place a boot on the vehicle to force the customer to pay a release fee – $40 for up to an hour late and $70 after that.

McNutt defended his company’s practices in an interview with the Press Herald last year and in an opinion piece he submitted for publication. He acknowledged that it is unpleasant to have a vehicle booted but that it is the customers’ responsibility to pay for the time they park on company property.

If convicted of cocaine possession, McNutt faces up to a year in jail and a potential fine.

He has two prior criminal convictions on his record, according to a Maine State Bureau of Identification database. He was fined $200 and ordered to pay $2.50 in restitution following a 2003 misdemeanor theft conviction and was fined $150 after a 2004 disorderly conduct conviction.

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

sdolan@pressherald.com

Twitter: @scottddolan

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