AUGUSTA (AP) – The former executive director of the Maine AIDS Alliance is going to jail for six months for stealing more than $23,000 from the organization.

Randall Norcross, 65, of Hallowell, was sentenced this week in Maine Superior Court to three years in jail with all but six months suspended.

He was also ordered to pay $23,569 in restitution, and will be on probation for four years after his release.

Norcross pleaded guilty in October to the theft charge and admitted stealing the money while he worked at the AIDS Alliance from December 1999 until the end of 2001. Norcross wrote more than 230 unauthorized checks for personal expenses on the group’s checking account, prosecutors said.

When he pleaded guilty, Norcross said he took the AIDS Alliance job at a low salary and was unable to take the four weeks of annual vacation he had negotiated because he was the lone full-time employee. He said he began writing checks in lieu of vacation time to cover private expenses.

At the sentencing hearing, Superior Court Justice characterized Norcross’ conduct as a “systematic looting” from the alliance.