Eighth trooper to plead guilty in OT scandal

Accused of falsely claiming almost $8G while assigned to duty on Mass Pike in ’15 and ’16

Another suspended state trooper is expected to plead guilty in the ongoing investigation of overtime abuse at the Massachusetts State Police, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Heath McAuliffe, 40, of Hopkinton would be the eighth trooper to plead guilty in the overtime abuse investigation. He is expected to plead guilty to one count of embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds as part of a plea deal, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling. The government will recommend a sentence of six to 12 months in prison.

Lelling’s office said McAuliffe was paid for overtime shifts that he did not work at all, for which he arrived late and from which he left early. McAuliffe submitted fraudulent citations designed to show he had worked overtime hours that he had not, and falsely claimed he worked the entirety of his overtime shifts. McAuliffe agreed to plead guilty to collecting $7,860 for overtime hours between August 2015 and August 2016.

In 2016, McAuliffe earned about $165,000, which included about $61,000 in overtime pay. In 2015, McAuliffe earned more than $180,000, which included about $83,000 in overtime pay.

McAuliffe was a trooper assigned to Troop E, which covered the Massachusetts Turnpike but has been disbanded since the overtime scandal broke.

The overtime in question involved the Accident and Injury Reduction Effort program, which was intended to reduce accidents, crashes and injuries on Interstate 90.

A date for the plea hearing has not yet been scheduled.