2 More Face Charges In Boston Police Overtime Scheme

One former Boston police officer and one current officer have agreed to plead guilty to charges connected to an investigation into overtime fraud at the department’s evidence warehouse, federal prosecutors said.

Former Sgt. George Finch, 59, of Franklin, will plead guilty to conspiracy to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds, the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston said in a statement Thursday.

Finch collected more than $11,000 between March 2015 and September 2016 for overtime hours he did not work, prosecutors allege.

Officer Michael Murphy, 61, of Boston, will plead guilty to similar charges, prosecutors said in a separate statement.

Murphy was paid about $16,000 between September 2016 and February 2019 for overtime hours he did not work, prosecutors allege.

They each face up to 15 years in prison.

Eleven current and former officers have now been charged in the case, which remains under investigation. Three have pleaded guilty.

Members of the Evidence Control Unit are responsible for storing, cataloging, and retrieving evidence. Members of the unit regularly left overtime shifts two or more hours early while submitting fraudulent overtime slips, according to authorities.