A former Bethel man was sentenced Thursday to
46 months in a federal prison for wire fraud related to a bogus multimillion dollar book deal.

 Gary R. Savage II, 47, most recently
of Newport, R.I., pleaded guilty to the charges in May and has been held without bail at the Cumberland County Jail in Portland. He is expected
to be transported to a federal prison soon, Oxford
County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Christopher Wainwright said Thursday. Wainwright devoted hundreds of hours to
the investigation over 18 months, beginning in January 2007.

According to court documents, Savage told the victim that he was about to enter into a book contract with a national insurance company that would be worth more than $10 million. Savage claimed to have co-authored the book, and the victim would receive a $750,000 deposit if he could help finance publication, the court records stated. Savage communicated with the man by phone and e-mail. According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Portland, the victim invested $186,000 and was promised he would be paid $240,00.

In December 2007 Savage admitted to the victim that the contract “was fake and his promises false,” the statement said.

Beyond the prison sentence and three years of supervised release, Savage was ordered to pay $186,000 in restitution to the victim over seven years, a $100 special assessment and forfeiture of two
Jeep Cherokees he bought with the victim’s money.

Wainwright, who worked with the U.S.
Secret Service during the investigation, said other potential fraud
victims reside in several area towns. He said individual investigations are
continuing and additional charges may be made against Savage.

The investigation by Wainwright
and Secret Service agents involved interviews
and research in several states and overseas.

eadams@sunjournal.com


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