one State cop looses pension... 4 other get their jobs back
A small sign that the system works. Convicted Trooper Raftery had his pension suspended.
By Matt Rocheleau
Globe Staff March 28, 2019
Four State Police troopers suspended
in the overtime fraud scandal should get their jobs back — at least for now —
and be paid back for the months spent on unpaid leave because the department
failed to follow proper procedures in disciplining them, the state’s Civil
Service Commission ruled Thursday.
The troopers were suspended without
pay indefinitely in mid-August after the department notified them in memos that
its ongoing audit had uncovered evidence they had skipped numerous overtime
shifts, according to documents filed with the commission.
None of the four troopers have been
charged criminally.
One of them — Trooper Daniel E.
Crespi — was accused by the department of skipping all, or a portion of, 294
shifts during 2016 and 2015, records show. That total appears to be a higher
number of skipped shifts than any of the 10 troopers charged criminally in the
fraud scandal.
Trooper Jeffrey J. Russell was
accused of skipping all, or a portion of, 130 shifts, while Trooper Jeffrey K.
Reger was accused of skipping some or all of 88 shifts during 2016 and 2015;
and Trooper John F. Adams was accused of skipping all or some of 13 shifts in
2015.
About one month after being suspended,
the troopers appealed to the Civil Service Commission, which on Thursday agreed
with the troopers that the department did not afford them due process before
handing down the discipline.