AUGUSTA, Maine — A wealthy attorney who came close to being elected governor has been disbarred following the completion of his sentence for possessing thousands of images of child sexual abuse, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A judge on Monday signed off on the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar recommendation that 77-year-old Eliot Cutler should no longer practice law. Cutler did not oppose the board\u2019s decision, which was made months ago. He was previously disbarred in New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The criminal case marked a dramatic fall for Cutler, who launched a Washington-based environmental law firm after serving as an aide to Sen. Edmund Muskie and as the top energy and environmental adviser to President Jimmy Carter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Running as an independent for governor, Cutler narrowly lost \u2014 by less than 2 percentage points \u2014 to Republican Paul LePage in 2010 and then lost again by a wider margin in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cutler was sentenced under a plea agreement in which he received a four-year term but was required to serve only nine months. He received time off for good behavior and was released earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n