FARMINGTON – The former treasurer of the Rangeley Lakes Snowmobile Club was given permission Thursday to have contact with club members – but not officers – while free on a charge of stealing thousands of dollars from the organization.

The ruling in Franklin County Superior Court amended bail conditions for Gail Gavigan, 61, of Dallas Plantation, who was charged Oct. 2 with stealing more than $10,000 from the club over the past three years.

Her attorney, Woody Hanstein, told the court Gavigan adamantly disputes the charge.

He asked that bail conditions be changed from no contact with members and officers to no contact with officers only. The reason is there are about 450 members and she continues to run into some of them in town.

Assistant District Attorney Andrew Robinson had no objection to the request, and Justice Michaela Murphy granted it. A conference on the case is set for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 23, 2009.

Interim Rangeley police Chief Dennis Leahy said in an affidavit that an auditor put the total amount the club cannot account for at $54,259.50. It includes checks made out to cash, to Gail Gavigan, to Vincent Banaitis Jr., to MBNA of America, Bank of America and Washington Mutual Credit Corp.

Banaitis lives with Gavigan, Gavigan said when contacted by telephone after her court appearance Thursday. She is charged with one count each of felony theft by unauthorized taking or transfer and felony theft by receiving stolen property.

Leahy’s affidavit said he was assigned to investigate the club’s finances on Aug. 25 and received copies of canceled checks written to various financial institutions, to cash, to businesses and to Gavigan. He said he interviewed Vice President Don Dumont, who showed Leahy there were deposits to separate accounts from Bank of America, which the club does not have accounts with. Dumont also stated there were disbursements to Washington Mutual Card Services and MBNA America, which the club has no accounts with, the document continued.

When members attempted to access the accounts, it couldn’t be done because Gavigan was the only one with PIN numbers, it states.

Leahy also interviewed President Steve Dudley, who said the club found discrepancies in the financial records in April 2008 and Gavigan was asked to step down as treasurer/secretary of the club then, his affidavit states.

Leahy said he contacted Bank of America to ascertain if the accounts that Gavigan was writing club checks to were club related. A fraud specialist informed him that the account was a credit card belonging Gavigan, and another account was a credit card in the name of Vincent Banaitis Jr. Leahy was also informed they were private accounts for those people. The specialist also informed him those accounts had their numbers converted to a new account or a different type of credit card and both accounts had a hold on them for limit restrictions, the affidavit states.

The total amount of the club checks made out to the Bank of America for the accounts for the past three years is $13,582.