The fate of the Androscoggin County GOP Committee leadership remained uncertain Thursday as a meeting to decide on the committee leadership continued late into the night.

At issue was the fate of Stavros Mendros, the beleaguered committee chairman who was asked to step down earlier this month.

The committee was expected to decide on the matter Thursday, but a scheduled meeting was still underway at 10:30 p.m.

One committee member has already resigned in the flap.

Mark Ramsay of Lisbon Falls, who  had served as treasurer of the committee for about two years, resigned in early December after $8,000 was discovered missing from the committee’s bank account, according to Executive Committee member Jason Greene.

Michael Marcotte, a state committee member who is also a member of the Executive Committee, said that money has been repaid.

In the midst of the controversy, Executive Committee members called for the removal of Mendros as chairman.

Accounts vary about how the money went missing and how it was discovered.

According to Mendros, who lives in Lewiston, he went to the Maine Family Federal Credit Union on Nov. 20 to withdraw $300 from the GOP account to pay an outstanding bill, and was told there were not enough funds to cover the check. In October, Ramsay had reported to the Executive Committee that there was more than $9,200 in the GOP accounts.

Mendros said he met with bank officials and was told the money had been withdrawn from various ATM locations around the state over a period of months.

He said he sought advice from a number of people in the GOP, many of whom urged him to seek legal counsel, which he did. He was advised not to tell anyone about the missing money until he had a chance to talk with Ramsay face to face, Mendros said, and he tried three times but was unable to make contact.

Others on the committee disputed Mendros’ version of events.

Greene said a member of the Executive Committee called him on Nov. 29 after hearing a rumor about missing money. And, under the committee’s bylaws, members are required to post a 48-hour notice for a meeting, so the meeting was set for Dec. 1, Greene said.

“On our own, the Executive Committee acted on the rumor, did an investigation, and determined that, yes, money was missing from the account,” Greene said. And, when Mendros said he wasn’t available to meet on Dec. 1, Greene said he told Mendros, “This is an emergency situation and we’re going to meet with or without you.”

When the Executive Committee convened the meeting, members reviewed bank statements showing that much of the money had been withdrawn from two ATMs — one at Hollywood Slots in Bangor and the other at Oxford Casino in Oxford. After that review, the committee called Ramsay for an explanation and Greene said Ramsay admitted to moving the money. The committee immediately asked for and received Ramsay’s resignation.

During their conversation with Ramsay, committee members asked him whether Mendros — in his capacity as chairman — had ever exercised any oversight over the bank accounts, according to Les Gibson, the most recent past vice president of the committee. Ramsay said Mendros never asked him for any financial accounting.

Members then unanimously passed a vote of no-confidence against Mendros, and wrote a formal letter asking for his resignation in accordance with its bylaws, Gibson said.

The request for Mendros’ resignation was based on a number of things, Greene said, including the fact that Mendros had known about the missing money since Nov. 20 and did not inform Executive Committee members until more than a week later. Members also felt Mendros had not upheld his fiduciary responsibility to the committee and its members to monitor bank accounts and ensure bills were paid on time.