PARIS – Ronald S. Snow said discrepancies in his bookkeeping work for Norway-Paris Community Television were due to computer error and other mistakes, according to a document filed in Oxford County Superior Court by Norway police Detective Gary Hill.

Snow, 58, of 292 Lake Road in Norway, was arrested Monday on a charge of theft after an audit revealed more than $29,000 missing from NPC-TV’s account.

The report also stated that Snow’s bank records showed “deposits were made to his accounts from NPC-TV, and his indebtedness and numerous overdrafts in both his personal accounts and business accounts.” Also, Hill said, public records show “liens against Snow and a civil suit filed for $25,000 for defaulting on a loan.”

Snow, proprietor of Three Sixty Management Services at 8 Market Square in Paris, was hired as bookkeeper for the station from 2003 to 2006.

Discrepancies in the station’s financial records were discovered by an accountant from Austin Associates of Norway who began working for the station, Hill said.

Austin Associates said Mike Spaulding is the current accountant for NPC-TV.

The bookkeeping issue was brought to the attention of police by Steve Galvin, station manager for the NPC-TV, in February.

The records produced by Galvin included checks written out to cash, Snow, Three Sixty Management, and C&R Redemption, Hill wrote. Snow owns the redemption center, which the report stated is “primarily a cash business.”

Hill said he spoke to Snow in early March and showed him the checks in question. Snow said the checks were written to him or cash so he could cash them and not need to deposit them into his business account, according to Hill’s statement to the court. Snow attributed some checks to payments for a loan he made to NPC-TV to cover the station’s expenses when the towns were late with their franchise fee checks.

NPC-TV is a nonprofit organization that receives its funds in part from cable franchise fees paid to Norway and Paris by Time Warner Cable.

Snow blamed other checks on computer error, saying it would sometimes “print the checks to or from the wrong account.” Snow said that he used Check Launch and Quick Books in his business, and had continued to use them despite their problems.

Galvin also found a $5,000 check from the Jennifer Coffren Supplemental Needs Trust with Snow as trustee which had been deposited into the NPC-TV account. Snow said the check was for the closing of a house for the beneficiary of the trust and had been written on the wrong account due to computer problems, the document stated.

According to the report, Snow said he was aware of the problem, and “would try to ‘pay back’ the account, if he caught the error.” Hill said Snow stated he would “‘make it right.'” Snow also said that although he has insurance for “dishonesty,” he preferred to return the money in payments rather than through the insurance company.

Snow initially “felt” he owed the station between $7,000 and $8,000. After reviewing his records, he revised the amount at the end of March to $3,700 and admitted to errors he had made, according to the document. While talking with Hill, Snow “noticed that the figures did not come out right” and further reduced the amount to $1,650, the record stated.

Kathleen Tyson of the accounting firm Runyon, Kersteen, Ouellette in Portland began an audit of NPC-TV’s finances on March 26. She completed the audit on March 31 and concluded that Snow received $29,352.01 in questionable payments, according to Hill.

Assistant District Attorney Joe O’Connor said Snow’s case is expected to be presented to the Oxford County grand jury in June.

Snow served as a Norway selectman from 1993 to 1999, including three years as chairman. He also served on the Norway Comprehensive Plan Committee, the Norway Revitalization Group, the executive board of the Growth Council of Oxford Hills, and the Norway-Paris Solid Waste Board.