The former head of the Phillips Historical Society is charged in the case.
By Samantha C. DePoy
Staff Writer

PHILLIPS – The former president of a tiny historical society in western Maine has been accused of putting thousands of dollars of rare railroad collectibles that weren’t his up for auction.

Kenneth R. Teele, 63, formerly of Phillips and now of Gray, was charged this week with receiving more than $10,000 in stolen property, a Class B felony.

Teele resigned in 2000 as president of the Phillips Historical Society, located in an old farmhouse on Pleasant Street in Phillips, after eight years in that position.

According to Detective David St. Laurent of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, Teele left on good terms.

Early this February, however, the society was notified by an avid railroad relics collector from Ohio that a number of rare railroad antiques from the museum’s collection were on the block at Cyr Auction Co. in Gray, said Dennis Atkinson, museum board vice president.

The items were listed in the auction catalog as being from the collection of Ken Teele.

The man who called thought it was suspicious that the museum would be selling such invaluable items, especially two circa-1879 books of stock certificates in the Sandy River Railroad. The caller said the historical society had agreed several years ago that if the society ever decided to sell the items, he would be the first they called.

Missing inventory

Directors of the small museum were shocked.

“This was stuff that was not supposed to be for sale,” St. Laurent said. “It’s something the museum wants to always keep.”

The directors immediately looked through the collection and noticed that some items were missing. Also missing, however, was most of their paperwork, which lists the information about each item loaned or donated to the society.

The items could have been missing for years, Atkinson said.

Directors phoned the Sheriff’s Department, which tried to stop the auction. However, because the paperwork containing the inventory list was missing, directors could not prove the items for sale belonged to the museum and not Teele.

On Feb. 5, Teele’s entire collection was auctioned off bit by bit, pulling in $31,600. The artifacts generating the most interest, eventually fetching around $12,000, said St. Laurent, were the stock certificate books.

The items were bought by people connected to the museum, St. Laurent said, although not members. Any items proven to be owned by the museum will be returned to it.

After a two-week investigation by St. Laurent and Lt. Niles Yeaton, Teele was interviewed at the Gray State Police barracks and charged.

Teele was not arrested because of serious family health problems, St. Laurent said.

Through his own admissions, the detective said, Teele revealed that he knew some of the property he sold, in particular the two stock books, were not his.

St. Laurent said Teele was remorseful and willing to pay back the society.

Teele told authorities the other items were his, St. Laurent said, though the historical society believes they were stolen.

“A lot of the property is still up in the air as to what is whose,” St. Laurent said. “There was never any agreement for any of this property to be released from the museum’s collection according to the board members we’ve spoken to.”

‘It does hurt’

Now, St. Laurent and Yeaton are working to trace the remainder of the auctioned items to the historical society. The investigation, he said, is just beginning.

Teele’s wife was secretary and treasurer of the society in the 1990s, St. Laurent said.

“We are upset that someone tried to steal our history and make a profit off of it,” Atkinson said. He stressed Teele was innocent until proven guilty.

“Some of the items that were auctioned off we believe are ours. This is a touchy subject for us. We’re upset that it happened. Without those items, it’s less history for the kids and the community. It does hurt.”

Teele will make his first appearance on the charges in a Franklin County District Court April 28. Meanwhile, the historical society will hold a special meeting March 9 in which they will meet with officials from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department.

sdepoy@sunjournal.com

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