By Jack Burns
Going far beyond simply cheating on their time cards, three Massachusetts State Troopers have been arrested and charged with embezzlement. According to the allegations brought against the troopers, they stole tens of thousands of dollars when they billed the state for overtime they either did not work or time they stole when they clocked out early.
The officers are Paul Cesan, Gary Herman, and David Wilson. In 2016, Cesan is believed to have embezzled $29,000, Herman $12,468, and Wilson $12,450, which amounts to a year’s salary for some hourly workers. Following the discovery, Cesan and Wilson resigned, and Herman was suspended.
NBC 10 in Boston reported:
They altered citations they had given out to make them appear as though they were given during overtime hours, or in some cases they (prosecutors) allege, they made up tickets that were never actually even issued.
In other words, the officers issued tickets—presumably to unsuspecting citizens—but forged the time on the ticket to appear as though they were working overtime. That is called lying by all intents and purposes, but the crime took place when they cashed in their paychecks for the overtime they simply never worked.
The federal offenses came to light under the microscope of a broader investigation into the policing practices of the now disbanded “Troop E” after it was discovered that a total of 21 officers were stealing overtime pay from the state. An internal audit of state trooper salaries in 2016 revealed the scam. Preventative measures were subsequently put in place by installing GPS transmitters in trooper vehicles to “better track their whereabouts,” according to the report.
Payscale.com says that the average Massachusetts State Trooper makes $104,000. Trooper Wilson reportedly earned $240,000 in 2016, well over double what the average trooper earns. Cesan and Herman’s yearly earnings from 2016 were not disclosed in the reports. All three troopers have been charged with theft from an agency receiving government funds.
U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling held a press conference and indicated that these initial charges will likely be followed by more.
“Let me be clear that today’s charges are the beginning and not the end of this federal investigation,” Lelling said. “There will be ongoing federal enforcement in this area aimed at determining whether this is a systemic problem within the State Police and if it is, Taking steps to fix it.”
All three men were arrested early on Wednesday, and from the tone of the press conference, the scandal is much broader and wider than many may know. Federal prosecutors released a dragnet over the MA State Police, and once again, those in charge of enforcing laws have been caught breaking the law and are facing serious penalties which could include jail time. However, as history has shown, many police officers rarely see any prison time for their crimes—even when some of those crimes have human victims, not merely fiduciary ones.
Unfortunately for prosecutors, when it is discovered that a law enforcement officer is a liar and a thief, anyone those troopers testified against, and anyone they may have sent to jail or to prison could likely have their convictions overturned. Such individuals could then sue the State of Massachusetts to recover any and all assets that were stolen from them through civil asset forfeiture, fines and fees they paid the courts, and any pain and suffering they may have endured during their criminal proceedings or incarceration. Massachusetts taxpayers will then carry the burden of paying for the crimes these troopers have allegedly committed.
Jack Burns is an educator, journalist, investigative reporter, and advocate of natural medicine. This article first appeared at The Free Thought Project.
Forget about any type of prosecution on these people. Their employers are already stealing tons more.
Hmmmmmm, I believe it was the great philosopher Mick Jagger who sang “Every Cop is a Criminal”.
I’m sure you get it. . . but I think I’ll leave this here for those who may not know. . .
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ad82ca67a2befa3dc6f2c0fd714bfff644170e838ceba0dcfca5342b7475ef20.jpg
Oh I get it. Oh yeah……………
Mass is within the 100 mile constitution free zone. these men got cheap change for the risks they take everyday and they do get benefits like the troopers stations/dorms ect. it also gets complicated as what is work and what is not work. on the other hand good work at the time keeping with all the systems and these guys are wired for everything body cams ect. it should be a snap.
while the doctors steal millions from Medicace every year.
The risks police officers take “every day” are greatly, and deliberately, overstated. The job of being a police officer is not even in the top 15 of dangerous jobs. The risk of injury or death from being shot is far, far, less than that! Most police officer job related fatalities are from motor vehicle crashes, many of which occur in wholly unnecessary chases and which are often coincident with the death of other motorists who are otherwise not connected with the chase. Unarmed, and presumably innocent, civilians are killed by police gunfire more than five times as often as police are shot and killed. Over the period of time since the US invaded Afghanistan, American civilians shot and killed by police here in the US number more than three times the number of our troops killed in battle during that same period. The prevalence of police shootings of civilians, including young children, women, old men, the disabled, has only arisen with the militarization of police weapons and equipment that has been accompanied by military training of police to act in the manner consistent with that of an occupying armed force. Since that is the case, and since even the most brazenly abusive killing is excused, it should be clear that our government wants it this way. Like the German Gestapo under Hitler, “they’re just doing their job”.
About 40 years ago, I had a friend who was killed by an police officer who, without his lights and siren, was chasing someone . My friend was a completely innocent person driving legally. The cop skated.
they helped me a few times
The German Gestapo often helped people too. For that matter, so has the Sicilian Mafia. It’s the clearly evident fact that there has been, and continues to be, a steadily increasing trend for police abuse and violence. When I was a police officer in the 1970s, police violence was nowhere near the level it is today; although there have always been abusive as well as corrupt cops.
the gestapo should help people so should the USA
citizens ONLY!!!!
ps: the cops used to be MIDDLE CLASS and lived among the citizens also middle class and where held responsible for their acts/behavior, their wives and kids went to school together.
the MIDDLE CLASS is DEAD and BURIED, now the rich get the police protection and everyone else is poor or aliens, they just shoot them for practice.
this is the way it always works out in dirt poor places like India ect.
Being a cop is so risky that 10 times more truck drivers die ‘in the line of duty’ every year just to make sure that you have a big screen TV and Hot Pockets. . .
Go sniff holsters somewhere else.