The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Division, the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Justice and the Boston Police Department’s commissioner announced the charges in a Wednesday news release.
The three active police officers—identified as Lieutenant Timothy Torigian, Officer Michael Murphy and Officer Kendra Conway—were suspended without pay, according to Boston Police Department Commissioner William Gross. The other six officers—identified in the release as Sergeant Gerard O’Brien, Sergeant Robert Twitchell, Officer Henry Doherty, Officer Diana Lopez, Officer James Carnes and Officer Ronald Nelson—are already retired.
“These officers are charged with stealing taxpayer money, year after year, through fraud,” U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said in the release. “Beyond the theft of funds, this kind of official misconduct also erodes trust in public institutions, at a time when that trust is most needed.”
The nine officers were charged with two counts each of conspiracy to commit theft from a program that is partially funded using federal money and embezzlement from an organization that is partially funded using federal money. The federal funding involved came from the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Transportation, according to the release.
The release describes the alleged false overtime habit the officers made while working at the Evidence Control Unit of the Boston Police Department. According to the release, the officers said they worked overtime repeatedly to receive higher pay rates for those hours.
Instead of sticking around to complete the hours they claimed on their time slips, the officers often left hours before their overtime shift ended, the release said.
According to the release, the officers collected an extra $15,000 in overtime pay and one lieutenant received about three times that amount for hours he did not work. Combined, the group received over $200,000 in overtime pay, the release said.
If found guilty, each officer could face up to five years in prison for conspiracy and up to 10 years in prison for embezzlement, as well as fines for each charge. The officers are expected to appear in court for the first time on these charges later Wednesday.
“I hold my officers to the highest standards and expect them to obey all the laws that they have taken an oath to uphold,” Boston Police Commissioner William Gross said in a statement. “News of these indictments send a strong message that this type of behavior will not be tolerated or ignored and can damage the trust my officers have worked so hard to build with the communities we serve.”
Newsweek reached out to the Boston Police Department for further comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
