Former Massachusetts State Trooper Indicted by Grand Jury

BOSTON – A former lieutenant with the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) was indicted today in federal court in Boston in connection with the ongoing investigation of overtime abuse at the Massachusetts State Police.

Former Lieutenant David Wilson, 57, of Charlton, was indicted on one count of embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds. Wilson was previously charged by a criminal complaint and arrested on June 27, 2018. An arraignment date has not yet been scheduled.

Wilson was assigned to Troop E of the MSP, which was responsible for enforcing criminal and traffic regulations along the Massachusetts Turnpike, Interstate I-90. Wilson served as the Officer-in-Charge of several overtime shifts and is alleged to have received overtime pay for shifts that he either did not work at all or from which he departed early.  

The alleged conduct involves overtime pay for the Accident and Injury Reduction Effort program (AIRE). That initiative was intended to reduce accidents, crashes, and injuries on I-90 through an enhanced presence of MSP Troopers who were to target vehicles traveling at excessive speeds. Wilson was required to work the entire duration of the shift – four hours – and truthfully report the date, time and sector of deployment on the citations issued during the shift. As alleged, Wilson concealed the fraud by submitting citations that were issued outside of the overtime shifts, altered citations to create the appearance that the citation was issued during an overtime shift, and/or submitted citations that were never issued and never took place.

According to court documents, investigators were able to corroborate the alleged conduct through information maintained concerning the usage of MSP cruiser radios, RMV records, and records of when driver history checks were run on ticketed drivers.

In 2016, Lt. Wilson earned approximately $230,000, claiming to have worked approximately 170 AIRE overtime shifts – equating to about $68,000 in overtime pay. In court documents, it is alleged that Lt. Wilson earned approximately $12,450 in overtime pay for hours that he did not work.

In 2015 and 2016, MSP received annual benefits from the U.S. Department of Transportation in excess of $10,000, which were funded pursuant to numerous federal grants.

The charge of theft of government funds provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Wilson was charged and arrested along with Trooper Gary Herman, 45, of Chester; and former Trooper Paul Cesan, 50, of Southwick.  On July 2, 2018, former Trooper Gregory Raftery, 47, of Westwood was charged and pleaded guilty.  On July 25, 2018, retired Trooper Daren DeJong, 56, of Uxbridge, was also charged.  On Aug. 17, suspended Trooper Kevin Sweeney, 40, of Braintree, was charged and has agreed to plead guilty.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Douglas Shoemaker, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dustin Chao and Mark Grady of Lelling’s Public Corruption Unit and Neil Gallagher of Lelling’s Economic Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.