Former Maine Sen. Peter Mills will serve in the post in the wake of the departure of long-time Director Paul Violette, who resigned under fire last week.

Former Republican state senator and gubernatorial candidate Peter Mills has been picked to serve as the new interim executive director of the Maine Turnpike Authority. The Maine Turnpike Board held a closed door session this morning.

Long-time Turnpike Director Paul Violette stepped down last week under fire for failing to document where he disbursed $157,000 dollars in gift cards.

The $157,000 was part of about a half a million dollars the authority spent on contributions and donations to outside organizations between 2005 and 2007.