Former Boston Police Captain Is Latest Officer Indicted In Overtime Theft Scheme

A former Boston police captain who oversaw the department's evidence warehouse is charged with signing off on fraudulent overtime slips for his subordinates and collecting overtime that he didn't earn.

Richard Evans, 62, of Hanover, was arrested Tuesday on conspiracy, theft and wire fraud charges.

Evans' indictment follows that of nine current and former Boston police officers who also worked in the evidence warehouse and are accused of racking up a collective $200,000 in fraudulent overtime over several years.

They were caught in part by the building's own time-coded alarm system, which showed when the evidence warehouse was closed up for the evening, prosecutors said. Evans also appears to have been snared by the same system.

Evans oversaw the police evidence warehouse for about a year, from March 2015 to April 2016. Prosecutors said in the indictment unsealed Tuesday that he "routinely" signed off on overtime slips for his subordinates, knowing they didn't actually work the hours.

Prosecutors say Evans collected more than $12,000 in overtime himself that he didn't earn. He was paid nearly $197,000 in 2016, the last year he oversaw the evidence warehouse.

Evans retired on Jan. 31 this year, and his pension is $145,000 annually, according to to the Boston retirement board.

BPD Superintendent in Chief Gregory Long, the interim head of the department, said in a statement that the department's own Anti-Corruption unit uncovered information that led to the charges against the evidence unit officers.

“The allegations contained in this indictment by a senior law enforcement officer are not reflective of the conscientious hard-working members of the Boston Police Department," he said in the statement. "No police officer is above the law. Today's indictment sends a strong message that this conduct will not be tolerated or ignored.”

Acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey called the allegations against Evans "disturbing."

"Any fraud is unacceptable. It breaks public trust. It dishonors the thousands of officers who serve our communities every day with honesty, integrity and bravery," Janey said during a press conference Tuesday. "I am committed to uncovering and rooting out behavior among officers that is inconsistent with our community values."

Evans made his first appearance in federal court Tuesday and was released without bail. His attorney, Ed Masferrer, said Evans retired from the Boston police after "30 years of honorable service."

"He completely and unequivocally denies the charges against him," he said. "Mr. Evans looks forward to reviewing the government's charges and proving his innocence at trial."

Evans' case is the latest pursued by federal prosecutors against public officials accused of collecting earnings they weren't owed.

In January, a former Boston police clerk, Marilyn Golisano, who worked in the District A-1 Detectives Unit was charged in federal court with submitting false overtime slips and forging signatures to collect more than $11,000 in overtime she didn't earn.

Federal prosecutors over the last few years have also pursued overtime fraud charges within the state police, with 46 troopers charged in connection with a 2018 overtime scheme. Two more supervisors were charged with theft last year in another scheme.

Meanwhile, the union that represents troopers is suing the state police, alleging it underpaid troopers overtime to the tune of $2 million a year.

In state court, a Boston police lieutenant accused of stealing more than $6,800 in fraudulent overtime pay had his case quietly dismissed in 2015 without a public arraignment in a deal with the police department, the Boston Globe reported. A sergeant alleged to have collected more than $13,000 in fraudulent overtime in 2016 almost got a similar deal, but was ultimately publicly arraigned and a judge agreed to dismiss the case on the condition the officer stayed out of trouble and paid back the money.