LEWISTON, Maine — A joint state and local investigation into allegations against the former mayor of Lewiston has found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing or election law violations.
Allegations were made against Shane Bouchard earlier this month by an ex-opponent's former campaign worker. Heather Everly Berube claimed Bouchard asked her to share inside information during the 2017 Lewiston mayoral election.
Lewiston police announced Tuesday their joint investigation with the state attorney general's office found "no credible evidence of criminal wrongdoing or violations of elections laws" in regard to Bouchard's actions.
Bouchard resigned from his mayoral seat on March 8. He was immediately replaced by by City Council President Kristen Cloutier.
Text messages made public by Berube, who said she had an affair with Bouchard, revealed a racist remark. Bouchard later apologized, stating he says "stupid things and stupid jokes occasionally," per the Associated Press.
It's unclear if those text messages were part of Lewiston police and the AG's office's investigation into Bouchard.