FOUND MONEY NOT SO GOOD FOR GEORGE
Ex-Dartmouth pol’s hidden millions found in deposit boxes
A former Dartmouth selectman — who told federal authorities that he had only $28,000 in cash after he was convicted of embezzling — has admitted that he was actually hiding millions of dollars, watches and jewelry in safety deposit boxes.
John George Jr., 71, pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of obstruction of justice for concealing his fortune from authorities.
George, who in July 2015 was sentenced to 70 months in prison for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority, was ordered to divulge how much money he had after his conviction. As part of his sentence, George was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $688,772 and forfeit $1.38 million.
George claimed at the time that he only had about $28,000 in cash, but authorities discovered that he had Rolex watches, jewelry and more than $2.5 million in cash in safe deposit boxes in New Bedford and Fairhaven.
According to the indictment, George was informed federal authorities had found his stash by a person whose name was kept anonymous. When he was told that his scheme to hide the money was all over the news, George said: “I’ll never get out of here then I guess.”
George is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Douglas P. Woodlock on June 12. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.
George’s attorney did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The scheme that led to George’s downfall stemmed from his ownership of the Union Street Bus Company, or USBC, a New Bedford-based company that operated public buses. While running the bus company, he simultaneously ran John George Farms, a Dartmouth-based produce farm.
His bus company was awarded the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority, or SRTA, contract to operate the SRTA public bus system that served a region that included New Bedford, Fall River and several neighboring towns.
Prosecutors contended that George was part of a conspiracy in which he had USBC workers work on his farm during their bus-driving hours. He also inflated his final yearly salary from $75,000 to $275,000 in an attempt to fraudulently boost his SRTA pension, authorities said.