Another statie pleads not guilty to OT scam
Yet another state trooper walked into the federal courthouse in the Seaport yesterday to answer to charges of swindling the government out of money through overtime scams.
David Wilson, 57, of Charlton pleaded not guilty to one count of embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds, a charge he was indicted of last week after being arrested in June.
Prosecutors allege Wilson collected $12,450 in overtime pay for hours he did not work. According to court documents, Wilson earned approximately $230,000 in 2016, about $68,000 of which was overtime pay.
Wilson’s lawyer didn’t return a message from the Herald seeking comment yesterday. The trooper remains free until Oct. 11, when he’s next due in court before Magistrate Judge Donald L. Cabell.
Wilson had been a member of Troop E, which patrolled the Mass Pike until Gov. Charlie Baker disbanded it in May after details of widespread overtime abuse became public. Wilson served as officerin-charge of several overtime shifts and received overtime pay for shifts he either did not work or departed from early, according to prosecutors.
Wilson was arrested in June along with former trooper Paul Cesan, 50, and trooper Gary Herman, 45. All three entered pleas of not guilty at their initial court appearances.
In all, six troopers have been charged in the overtime investigation, and a total of 46 have been flagged by the ongoing audit.
In July, retired trooper Gregory Raferty pleaded guilty to stealing $51,337 through the OT shifts. Last Friday, trooper Kevin Sweeney, 40, who last year made $243,882, including $75,031 in overtime pay — became the second trooper to plead guilty in the overtime probe.
Retired trooper Daren Dejong was also charged and pleaded not guilty last month. Prosecutors allege he bilked state police of more than $14,000 through no-show overtime shifts.
State police Col. Kerry Gilpin has announced a set of reforms in response to the overtime scandal, including quarterly overtime audits of the department’s 50 top earners, GPS tracking on cruisers and a police camera pilot program.