By Rebecca Goldfine,Staff Writer

BETHEL – Police Chief Alan Carr, who is running for Oxford County sheriff, acknowledged Thursday that his master’s degree is bogus.

“I got caught in a scam,” Carr said in a telephone interview.

When asked about the degree Thursday, Carr said it was from a school in Boise, Idaho, called Almeda University. He received the degree in 2003 after paying $500 for it.

According to the Office of Degree Authorization in Eugene, Ore., Almeda University is an unaccredited college that was closed by legal action in Florida, but still might be operating there. On the organization’s Web site, two locations for Almeda are listed: Florida and Idaho.

Carr said that after he read an article that ran Sunday in the Sun Journal about diploma mills and phony degrees, he realized that his degree was not valid. He also said he would disavow the claim on any ads endorsing him for sheriff.

“When I submitted my transcripts and stuff, they told me (Almeda) wasn’t accredited,” he said. “They told me it was in the process, and they were trying to get accredited.”

According to Carr, he sent the school his college transcripts from Liberty Home Bible Institute, a mail-in certificate program of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., and from courses he took at Southern Maine Technical College.

Carr said that Almeda staff then told him that based on his academic history and life experiences, he was eligible for a master’s degree.

He did not take any courses through the university, but sent Almeda $500 for the diploma.

“At the time I thought it was legitimate, otherwise I wouldn’t have paid for it,” said the former Maine state trooper who retired after a 25-year career. He graduated from Maine’s police academy in 1977.

Bethel Town Manager Scott Cole said he didn’t question Carr about his educational background, which is listed on Carr’s resume, when he hired the police officer for the full-time chief’s post in 2004.

The resume lists the master’s degree, but does not name the university. Carr said he identified the school during the interview process with Cole.

“I really didn’t pay attention to it,” Cole said. “What mattered more was he had years of experience. He was and is a very honest man.”

Cole added, “He’s done a good job. The best thing he’s done is he’s restored credibility to the police department. He’s renewed an affection between the citizenry and the police department.”

“I wasn’t trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes by any stretch of the imagination,” Carr said.

“He’s a good person, he really is,” said Lt. Chris Wainwright, who is running against Carr for the Republican nomination for sheriff. “Personally, I have been working on getting a (bachelor’s) degree myself, and it’s time-consuming.”

He added, “A lot of people were questioning the degree, and someone told me,” when asked whether he knew about Carr’s master’s contention earlier.

Wilton police Chief Wayne Gallant is running unopposed in the Democratic primary for the sheriff’s nomination.