Environmental police chief axed
Probe: McGinn spied on staff, fixed tickets for his friends
The head of the state environmental police — a former driver for Gov. Charlie Baker — has been fired after an investigation found he installed secret cameras to spy on employees and fixed off-road vehicle tickets given to a friend and former neighbor.
Col. James McGinn “exercised poor judgment and violated public trust” and was terminated in order to “restore confidence” at the embattled environmental police, according to the internal investigation released yesterday by the Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
The firing of McGinn, a former state trooper, is a major black mark for Baker, who quickly promoted him from campaign driver to colonel and chief of the environmental police in 2015, despite the fact McGinn had no environmental experience. McGinn had been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the investigation.
Baker said in a statement that he backed the investigation and “I believe that Colonel McGinn’s actions were inappropriate for any state employee, especially the head of the Environmental Police.”
The investigation also cited one of McGinn’s former deputies, Maj. William Bilotta, for participating in the improper activities ordered by McGinn. Bilotta has since retired from the force.
“The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs will begin a review of internal controls and policies in an effort to restore accountability and public trust in the Massachusetts Environmental Police,” said EEA spokesman Peter Lorenz. “The unauthorized contract for surveillance has been terminated, and a formal investigation into alleged timesheet irregularities has been opened.”
A report issued by EEA found that McGinn secretly bought and installed cameras at the Westboro office of the environmental police to spy on officers who worked there.
McGinn even went so far as to hire a private investigator on the taxpayer dime to spy on one officer to see if he was working his shifts, according to the report.
McGinn ordered the agency to buy the camera equipment and hired the investigator for more than $5,000 without getting approval from EEA, the investigation found.
“The Colonel exercised poor judgment and acted irresponsibly in engaging in covert surveillance activity without proper justification or notice to employees, thereby undermining employee morale and the integrity of his own leadership of the environmental police force,” the investigative report concluded.
The report also concluded that Bilotta, after talking to McGinn, ordered that two citations given to the parents of two underage children riding offroad vehicles illegally should be voided. The incident happened in 2015. One of the parents was an acquaintance of McGinn.
McGinn’s own children also were seen riding offroad vehicles illegally, but they fled and were not given tickets, the report said.
“The investigators therefore found a reasonable basis to conclude that Colonel McGinn influenced the disposition of the citations in a manner that benefited a personal acquaintance,” the report said.
The alleged ticket-fixing incident was referred to the State Ethics Commission.