Ex-trooper cuts plea deal, admits to stealing OT $$
Expert: Cop could flip on others
A retired state trooper has pleaded guilty to stealing thousands of dollars through phony overtime slips, with prosecutors recommending a light sentence that could indicate his cooperation in cases against other troopers.
Former trooper Gregory Raftery, who retired earlier this year, pleaded guilty to embezzling from the state police in a filing in U.S. District Court yesterday. Raftery’s plea comes less than a week after three other troopers — former lieutenant David
W. Wilson, 57, of Charlton, former trooper Paul E. Cesan, 50, of Southwick, and trooper Gary S. Herman, 45, of Chester — were arrested on embezzlement charges.
The charge of embezzlment carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail and a fine of $250,000. But under the plea the feds are recommending a prison sentence between a year and 18 months, an unspecified fine and restitution of the $51,337 Raftery stole, according to documents.
Raftery had earlier been named in an audit that referred 40 troopers with questionable overtime claims to the attorney general’s office. Phil Tracy, a criminal defense attorney not involved in the case, said the “total breakdown” in the state police system gives the U.S. Attorney’s office an advantage in prosecuting corruption cases — and Raftery’s sentence might indicate his cooperation to avoid a slam-dunk conviction with the maximum penalty.
“It absolutely could mean that ... the handwriting’s on the wall,” Tracy said, saying people in cases like this look to “better yourself by somehow cooperating, implicate higher-ups or give more evidence against others.”
Raftery was a member of Troop E, which patrolled the Mass Pike and has since been disbanded due to the overtime scandal — one of several, including the once hidden salary records of the Logan Airport-patrolling Troop F, that have tarnished the department and Gov. Charlie Baker. In Troop E, the audit found dozens of troopers suspected of faking work on an overtime program designed to target speeders through additional patrols.
According to his indictment, Raftery reportedly worked nearly 300 of those shifts in 2015 and 2016, but left early “on a regular basis” while still filing for the shifts, and on “several occasions” didn’t show up for work at all. To cover his tracks, Raftery submitted fake citations for traffic stops that never took place, using the state police computer database to get Registry of Motor Vehicles information for the tickets.
Raftery earned $219,669, with $87,607 in overtime, in 2015, and in 2016 earned $202,769 with $82,514 in OT. He is currently earning a monthly pension of $6,017 — more than $72,000 a year — but the State Retirement Board will review his plea to determine whether his pension is subject to forfeiture, a
‘It absolutely could mean that ... the handwriting’s on the wall.’ — PHIL TRACY criminal defense attorney
spokeswoman said.
In a statement, state police Col. Kerry A. Gilpin said the department played “a lead role” in uncovering its own corruption.
“Rest assured that no one is more disheartened by this illegal conduct than am I and the overwhelming majority of troopers who exhibit integrity and bravery every day,” Gilpin said.