Ex-Boston Officer Pleads Guilty In Overtime Pay Scandal

A former Boston police officer who authorities say received almost $13,000 in fraudulent overtime pay while working at the department's evidence warehouse has pleaded guilty, federal prosecutors said.

Joseph Nee, 48, of Randolph, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office in Boston.

Nee often left his shifts early and submitted fraudulent overtime slips for hours that he did not work from at least January 2015 until August 2017, prosecutors said.

Nee faced a maximum of 15 years in prison, but under terms of a plea bargain, prosecutors recommended a sentence of 18 months to two years. The judge is not bound by the recommendation.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 24.

Nee is among 13 current and former Boston officers implicated in the scheme, in which a total of more than $250,000 was embezzled, prosecutors said. Several have pleaded guilty.