SKOWHEGAN — Michael Mooney betrayed the members of the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House of Pittsfield, those from the church told a judge deciding Mooney’s sentence Monday. 

The members of the congregation, mostly elderly and who number just more than a dozen, trusted Mooney to run the church as its administrator. They paid him well and welcomed him into their community.

But Mooney stole thousands of dollars from the community, using a debit card other church leaders did not know existed to make personal purchases.

“He simply got a kick out of stealing our money because he said it was just so easy,” said Becky Thompson, who as the church’s council moderator in 2024 discovered Mooney was stealing using a debit card to make personal purchases.

“We trusted him to do his job — and that’s what made it easy for him,” Thompson continued. “He was so convincing that he had everything under control, and as volunteers with busy lives, we never saw the need for extra oversight, which we now regret, of course.”

Mooney was sentenced Monday to five years in prison, with all but two years suspended, and three years of probation. Superior Court Chief Justice Robert E. Mullen also ordered Mooney to pay $49,000 in restitution.

The split sentence and restitution amount were the cap to which prosecutors and Mooney’s attorney agreed when Mooney pleaded guilty to one Class B count of theft in August.

Court marshals took Mooney, 54, of Waterville, into custody immediately following the sentencing hearing at the Somerset County Superior Court in Skowhegan. He was booked at the Somerset County Jail later Monday, records show, and will serve the prison sentence at a state Department of Corrections facility.

Thompson, now the church’s administrator and a member of 30 years, said the amount Mooney stole totaled at least $49,000 — and she suspects he took more than that.

Thompson said in an interview earlier this year that she had initially grown suspicious of Mooney, hired in 2019, due to unpaid bills. 

Looking at financial records while Mooney was away on vacation in 2024, she discovered his unauthorized use of the debit card, taking funds from an endowment that had been created to support the church. In court Monday, Thompson said church leadership is made up of volunteers and turns over every two years, so leaders at the time had no idea the debit card had been approved years before.

Thompson said she then turned the information over to the Pittsfield Police Department, and Mooney admitted to taking the money. He was charged in August 2024 and indicted several months later.

“This was the darkest thing to happen to our church community in well over 100 years and thousands of members,” Thompson said.

First Assistant District Attorney Timothy Snyder called Mooney’s actions a “terrible, selfish and heartless crime” against a pillar of the Pittsfield community.

The theft ultimately led to the church selling its historic building in downtown Pittsfield, which had already been in need of major repairs before Mooney’s stealing was uncovered. The congregation now meets twice a month at the Pittsfield Public Library; Church Supper LLC, a Maine company with a Colorado mailing address, bought the former UU Meeting House property off Easy Street, real estate records show.

“No crime can ever kill the spirit of the church, but Mr. Mooney’s actions have severely harmed the people,” Snyder said in a brief argument.

Trudy Ferland said Mooney’s theft included about $1,900 members had raised for a food program. John Parkhurst said he rented an apartment to Mooney at a lower rent than he could have charged because he trusted him as a member of the church community. And Richard Parkhurst said the church has faced tax penalties because the church did not withhold income tax from Mooney’s paychecks, and Mooney did not pay any as church leaders thought he would.

Mooney’s betrayal caused both psychological and spiritual harm to the UU Meeting House’s members, the Rev. Julianne Bousquet said.

Bousquet said she thinks Mooney can improve himself, but asked Mullen to impose appropriate consequences, including time behind bars “to reflect on how he became a cruel, deceitful, manipulative, lying thief with a big warm smile.”

Mooney’s court-appointed attorney, Thomas A. Tilton, whose law office is in Waterville, argued for a sentence of five years in prison, with all but 30 days suspended, and four years of probation. 

Tilton said that Mooney accepted responsibility as soon as someone caught him after months of his stealing. 

“It was almost as though he was waiting for that to happen,” Tilton said, as Mooney nodded his head.

Mooney cooperated with law enforcement, complied with bail conditions and saved $5,000 working as a dishwasher in the last year to begin paying restitution, Tilton said. Tilton also referenced Mooney’s childhood trauma and noted his only criminal record is for drunken driving in Massachusetts.

Through tears, and looking at the members of the church seated in the gallery, Mooney apologized.

“I’m sorry for stealing,” Mooney said. “I’m sorry for using your debit card and stealing your much-needed funds. I’m sorry for the lying, manipulation and dishonesty. I’m sorry that I hurt you all, collectively and individually.”

James Egerton, a friend of Mooney, said he was initially shocked, heartbroken and angry when he found out Mooney was accused of theft. He said he wanted to punch Mooney in the face.

Mooney told Egerton he wanted to kill himself. Egerton said he considered that Mooney endured childhood sexual abuse, previously had substance abuse issues and spent time in mental health treatment and decided to help him get his life together, including letting him stay at his home.

“Michael was honestly feeling shame, regret, remorse, embarrassment and self-loathing for hurting people he actually cared for,” Egerton said. “I believed Michael when he said he wanted to do what was right and expected that he had to pay for his crime.”

Mullen, in explaining how he reached his decision through Maine’s three-step sentencing analysis, said the aggravating and mitigating factors were equal. He considered the impact on the church and its members to be the most serious aggravating factor.

“There’s just no reason for this to happen,” Mullen said to Mooney as he closed his remarks. “There’s never a reason to steal from somebody, much less a church and from your fellow citizens, members of the church, who trusted you.”