AUGUSTA — A legislative panel has issued a subpoena to former Maine Turnpike Director Paul Violette to testify before the committee on April 15.

Violette’s attorney, Peter DeTroy, said today that Violette will most likely assert his constitutional right against self-incrimination and refuse to answer any questions that imply that he was involved in criminal misconduct.

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Paul Violette, former executive director of the Maine Turnpike Authority. AP

The Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee last week voted 9-1 to issue the subpoena if Violette refuses to voluntarily testify before the committee. DeTroy earlier this week he informed the Legislature’s Office of Program Evaluation & Government Accountability that Violette would not voluntarily offer testimony,

Rep. David Burns, R-Whiting, co-chair of the Government Oversight Committee, said today that the subpoena has been mailed to DeTroy, who has agreed to accept it on Violette’s behalf.

Viollete, who lives in Portland, was the executive director of the Maine Turnpike Authority for 23 years. He resigned last month amid questions about the authority’s spending practices, including donations to groups with no direct link to its mission and its failure to keep records of the gift certificates it purchased and gave away.

From 2005 to 2009, the turnpike authority spent $454,000 on sponsorships and donations, including gift cards, to as many as 50 groups, according to a report by the Legislature’s Office of Program Evaluation and Governmental Accountability.