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Another 4 State Police Employees Suspended For Overtime Pay Discrepancies

Another four Massachusetts State Police employees have been suspended for filing for overtime pay for hours they did not work, according to department investigators conducting an ongoing internal audit of the embattled agency.

State police have referred the four cases to federal and state prosecutors for potential prosecution.

The department announced the suspensions in a statement released Monday afternoon. The four workers were members of the now-shuttered Troop E, which patrolled the length of the Massachusetts Turnpike and was disbanded in early April in connection with the overtime misconduct.

The suspensions "stem from certain traffic enforcement overtime shifts the four were assigned to work when they were members of the former Troop E," the statement said.

Back in March, state police said more than 20 troopers had been paid for overtime shifts they didn't work. With Monday's suspensions, a total of 46 department members have been accused of such abuse.

In addition to the criminal investigationdepartment hearings will determine the four employees' duty statuses until their overtime shifts have been reviewed by in-house and outside investigators.

In late June, a suspended trooper and two recently retired troopers — also members of Troop E -- were the first to be charged in federal court in the scandal. They have been accused of taking thousands of dollars in overtime pay by submitting fake traffic citations to create the appearance they were working. In total, five state troopers have so far been criminally charged.

"Our commitment to the public, and to the vast majority of Troopers who conduct themselves with integrity and dedication to duty every day, is to identify anyone who has violated their oath, and we continue to do just that,” Col. Kerry Gilpin, superintendent of state police, said in the statement.

Beyond the audit, the department has since said it will implement a litany of reforms, including the tracking of 1,000 state police cruisers and audits of the 50 highest earners for each quarter.

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Lisa Creamer Managing Editor, Digital News
Lisa Creamer is WBUR's managing editor for digital news.

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