Is OT fraud rampant in most police departments?

 I'm not claiming FPD is in question, but I have never gotten the answer to the questions of who approves OT and how is it verified. The same with details... who verifies the work is actually done. The feds seem to be on a fraud hunt here in Mass.

From The Globe

A federal grand jury is investigating accusations of overtime fraud in the Boston Police Department, according to two sources familiar with the matter — an inquiry that comes on the heels of the sprawling State Police pay abuse scandal.

The investigation is focused on three officers who worked in the department’s evidence unit, the sources said, and centers on allegations that the officers in some cases did not work their full four-hour overtime shifts.

The US attorney’s office said it does not confirm or deny investigations.

The three officers reported to be of interest in the federal investigation all collected significant overtime in 2018, records show. An attorney for one of the officers said Friday that he has not been advised of any criminal investigation. An attorney for a second said his client is a decorated officer. An attorney for the third said he expected the officer to be cleared of any wrongdoing.

The three officers are on paid administrative leave, Sergeant Detective John Boyle, a police department spokesman, said Friday night. An internal investigation is ongoing, the spokesman said.

Mayor Martin Walsh’s office referred questions to the police department.

In February, five Boston police officials — two supervisors from the evidence unit and three officers assigned to provide security at the front desk of department headquarters — were placed on administrative leave after an investigation into alleged payroll abuse.

At the time that inquiry surfaced, an attorney for the police union said the front desk is under constant video surveillance and questioned how officers under such scrutiny could do anything wrong.

The police department did not identify the two supervisors, but referred the matter to the Suffolk district attorney’s office. At the time, a department spokesman said the investigation centered on an administrative issue and that officials were confident that evidence had not been compromised.

The Suffolk district attorney’s office declined to comment Friday.

In response to the supervisors’ suspensions, Police Commissioner William Gross ordered a review of payroll data for every district in the department and instructed commanders to “make abundantly clear the rules and expectations surrounding time attendance, and reporting for duty at the department.”