Suspended troopers set to return to work
Three of the state troopers suspended in the agency’s overtime fraud scandal are set to return to their six-figure jobs today as others collect hefty pensions, records show.
The Sunday shifts mark the beginning of “restrictive duty” where the three officers are not allowed to carry their “issued firearm” or “operate a marked Department vehicle,” agency rules state.
State Police spokesman Dave Procopio said Saturday an officer on restricted duty “may have no contact with the public, and has all department-issued equipment taken from him/her, including weapon, cruiser, and department identification, for the duration of that status.”
Troopers on that status, Procopio added, “generally perform administrative duty and cannot work details or overtime. The three troopers getting credit for time served, and who then will serve 30 days of restricted duty, are not creating overtime for other troopers because they have been suspended without pay since 2018, so they have not performed patrol or any other policing duties since then.”
The three troopers due to end their suspensions — Anthony Boszko, Jeffrey Reger and Jeffrey Russell — are among 15 suspended for overtime abuse, records show.
Massachusetts State Police Col. Christopher Mason announced this week those 15 officers will be suspended without pay for lengths of time ranging between 60 to 841 days. Three are being credited for “time served” after already being suspended “many months” without pay.
The disciplined troopers will have to pay full restitution based on the amount the state says they stole, which ranges from $2,941 to $15,092.
Additionally, one trooper has been fired and five more have hearings scheduled to determine whether they will face the same fate, State Police announced.
Ten troopers have been criminally charged, and nine have pleaded guilty. Others from the now-defunct Troop E were allowed to retire without punishment, and, although “implicated,” those former troopers are collecting pensions. Below are their annual pensions and dates of retirement, according to the state comptroller’s online payroll database:
Lt. James Canty, $95,141. 3-12-18. Lt. John O’Grady, $106,094. 10-28-17. Trooper Robert Freniere, $90,204. 1017-17. Trooper Sean Hoye, $87,436. 6-26-18. Trooper Brian Kelley, $84,209. 6-5-18. Trooper Christopher Kudlay, $78,267. 3-24-18. Trooper Kevin Maple, $79,926. 3-22-18. Trooper Stephen Mihalek, $69,116. 3-22-18. Trooper Jeffrey Morrill, $80,297. 6-4-18. Trooper Kevin O’Brien, $78,980. 3-22-18. Trooper Raymond O’Neil, $117,492. 9-2819. Trooper James Richardson, $71,453. 6-4-18. Trooper Jeffrey Roderick, $80,655. 6-418. Trooper Raymond Thompson, $77,813. 9-17-19.