Former Franklin County prosecutor’s license to practice law is reinstated

AUGUSTA — A suspended former Franklin County assistant district attorney is allowed to practice law again in Maine.

Kayla Alves, 38, pleaded guilty last year in federal court to a charge of tampering with documents in connection with an illegal marijuana distribution and money laundering scheme.

She was sentenced to two years probation and a $2,000 fine after admitting she deleted text messages to a former law enforcement officer allegedly involved in the scheme, a charge stemming from a federal investigation into the illegal pot growing and distribution conspiracy.

As required, Alves notified the Board of Overseers of the Bar, which governs the legal profession in Maine.

“Given that Alves’s conviction establishes conclusively that Alves committed a ‘serious crime’ involving interference with the administration of justice,” a single judge appointed by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court said, the court determined what the appropriate sanction should be.

The court concluded that Alves, “knowingly destroyed evidence during the course of a criminal investigation,” an act she would have known was seriously improper given her role as an assistant district attorney.

On the other hand, the court said, Alves was not charged with substantive crimes related to the investigation and had no prior history of wrongdoing. Nor did she have any role in the probe itself, it said.

The court concluded that a nine-month suspension was the appropriate penalty.

On Aug. 3, the high court issued an order approving Alves’ reinstatement, concluding that she had satisfied each of the reinstatement criteria required.

The court also found that Alves had the “requisite honesty and integrity to practice law,” according to its order, and reinstated her as of Aug. 7.

Walter McKee, an Augusta attorney who represented Alves in federal court, issued a written statement Wednesday that read: “Kayla is really looking forward to practicing law again. She earned that opportunity by doing everything asked of her by the Board of Overseers. It has been a long journey to get her license back and she is grateful for all of the support everyone has given her over the past many months and years.”