RUMFORD – Seth Carey, the Rumford lawyer backing a pending statewide referendum on a private casino in Oxford County, abruptly resigned from the campaign Thursday.

Carey, 33, also stepped down from his post as president of Evergreen Mountain Enterprises, the limited liability corporation he formed to own and operate the casino if it’s approved by voters in November.

“I realize certain legal matters in my home town could become a distraction to the casino referendum I authored,” Carey said in a written statement issued by fax. “My goal was to get this issue into the hands of the people so that a vigorous debate could take place in the coming months.”

The Sun Journal also learned Thursday that Carey was charged with misdemeanor assault on March 18. Police Chief Stacy Carter confirmed that a patrol officer, after an investigation, found there was probable cause to issue the summons for an incident that occurred in early March.

Sgt. David Bean said Thursday night that a report filed by officer Scott Mills states that an 18-year-old Peru woman went to Carey’s residence at 141 Congress St. between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. on March 4 thinking there would be several people there, but found only Carey. The report states the woman reported Carey touched her in an offensive manner, and she reported it to police.

“Simple assault is offensive physical contact,” Carter said.

Sgt. Bean did not identify the woman.

A May 6 court date had been set for Carey, he said.

Carey has a 2005 conviction for allowing the illegal operation of a motor vehicle.

Pat LaMarche, the spokeswoman for the casino campaign, MaineCasinoNow.com, said she could not elaborate on Carey’s reasons for stepping down.

Dennis Bailey, the executive director of CasinosNo!, the statewide political action committee formed to defeat casino referenda, said “I can’t see this as anything less than a major setback” for the Oxford County effort.

The proposal, Bailey pointed out, calls for the president of Evergreen Mountain Enterprises to be seated on all governing boards that receive money from the casino. “We always assumed that was Seth Carey, and now we don’t know,” Bailey said.

“I think it’s going to raise a lot more questions about who is backing it, who is going to be guiding this thing through” to the November vote, Bailey said.

Some other of Carey’s actions are being reviewed by the Grievance Commission of the Board of Overseers of the Bar, the sanctioning agency for lawyers in Maine.

That review includes five complaints lodged by two local attorneys and a judge that Carey may have behaved unethically, violating the Maine Bar Association’s Code of Professional Responsibility. Two of the complaints were lodged by former Rumford town attorney Jennifer Kreckel.

Carey’s father, Thomas Carey is now the town’s attorney.

Carey appeared before the Board of Overseers on Monday and again Wednesday, and the hearing has been continued. As of Thursday afternoon, the continuation date was not set.

Once the hearing is concluded, Bar counsel will take the testimony under advisement and issue a ruling. The counsel could dismiss some or all of the complaints, issue a public reprimand against Carey, dismiss the complaints with a warning, or make a finding of possible cause for suspension or disbarment.

LaMarche said that over the next few days, perhaps within 48 hours, there would be clarification on which individuals with the campaign would take on leadership roles. She said she would continue as spokeswoman.

“The project continues and will be moving forward,” she said.

Carey filed articles of incorporation for Evergreen Mountain Enterprises LCC on April 3, 2006, naming himself as the sole manager of the enterprise that was set up “for the purpose of promoting the concept of a resort casino in Oxford County.” The 2008 annual report filed for Evergreen Mountain adjusted the definition of the business from promoting the concept to “trying to start a resort-casino in Oxford County.”

The most recent campaign finance report for Evergreen’s pro-casino political action committee, which covers January to March 31, lists three employees: James Bishop of Lewiston, Kevin Saisi of Rumford, and Peter Martin of Winslow. The report shows total operating expenses for that period of $4,519.

To date, the campaign has spent more than $160,000 in support of the campaign, the bulk of which – nearly $94,000 – was spent between Oct. 1, 2007, and Jan. 5, to gather signatures to qualify for the ballot initiative. Campaign finance reports also show that most of the money to fund the campaign have come from loans made to the campaign.

Phone and e-mail messages to Seth Carey were not immediately returned.

Judith Meyer, managing editor/days, and Staff Editor Mary Delamater contributed to this report.