PORTLAND — Norma Duhamel, 71, of Saco, was sentenced Tuesday at U.S. District Court to two years of probation for theft of mail and ordered to pay $1,230 in restitution.

According to court documents, Duhamel stole mail containing bank checks and a credit card from mailboxes of residents of Cumberland between August and October of 2016.

 She cashed about $1,125 worth of stolen checks and charged about $105 on the credit card, according to court documents.

U.S. District Court by Chief Judge Nancy Torresen warned Duhamel that if she repeated her behavior and violated the terms of her probation, she would be guaranteed a jail sentence, according to a press release from Richard Murphy, acting United States attorney for the District of Maine.

According to court documents, theft of mail is a Class D felony punishable of up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Duhanel pleaded guilty to the charge on June 2.

Court documents by attorney David Beneman portray Duhamel as someone who had a difficult life and had recently begun making changes to better herself.

According to Beneman, Duhamel’s father died in a car accident when she was 15. She married at 18 to a man who was an alcoholic, unfaithful and physically abusive. She later divorced him and gained sole custody of their daughter.

Duhamel worked 25 years as a juvenile counselor at Long Creek Youth Development Center, and was one of the first female case workers at the facility, according to Beneman.

“Norma’s downward slide began in 2002 when she was overwhelmed by a number of personal tragedies,” said Beneman. It was at this time when Duhamel’s mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and her only grandchild with severe autism, said Beneman. She retired from her long-time job, became depressed, her husband was unfaithful and her marriage began to fail, according to Beneman.

Returning to work at a Scarborough restaurant helped Duhanel’s depression, but she had to stop working for a period of time when she had a knee replacement in 2011, and the restaurant closed in 2012 shortly after she returned to work, according to Beneman.

Duhamel and her husband then separated and Duhamel was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. She had two back surgeries in 2016 and carpal tunnel surgery in 2017, according to Beneman.

Duhamel has an addiction to slot machine gambling, which developed after the onset of her depression in 2002, according to Beneman. Trips to the casino went from monthly to weekly to daily and she used up her savings and depleted her credit cards, according to Beneman. 

“She stole, mostly small amounts,” wrote Beneman. Duhamel began living in motels and in her car, according to Beneman. She tried to find treatment for her gambling addiction but was repeatedly told the addiction counselors were overloaded with opiate clients, according to Beneman.

“Her embarrassment grew and the problem persisted. Norma credits the federal prosecution with being the reality check she needs,” wrote Beneman.

Duhamel has worked for several months on a plan to address her addiction and life challenges, according to Beneman.

“Norma has pled guilty, is highly remorseful and appreciates the wrongfulness of her conduct,” wrote Beneman.

As of Aug. 9 Duhamel had made $400 in payments toward restitution and had hoped to pay more by the date of her sentencing, according to Beneman.

She has been working up to 60 hours a week as at Funtown Splashtown USA, driving students and seasonal workers who live at seasonal dormitories to and from work and back and forth for meals and breaks, according to Beneman.

Beneman said Duhamel took the initiative to research how to ban herself from Maine casinos, and voluntarily signed up for the self-exclusion list. With the help from pre-trial services she has begun counseling, and has been approved for a HUD subsidy and is close to the top of a waiting list for an apartment. 

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or [email protected].