Former MSP Lieutenant indicted on overtime abuse charge

BOSTON — A former lieutenant with the Massachusetts State Police was indicted in federal court on Wednesday in connection to the ongoing investigation into overtime abuse at the Massachusetts State Police.

Former Lt. David Wilson, 57, of Charlton, was indicted on one count of embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds. Wilson was previously charged by a criminal complaint and arrested on June 27. An arraignment date has not been scheduled.

Wilson was assigned to the now disbanded Troop E of the State Police, responsible for enforcing criminal and traffic regulations along the Mass Pike. Wilson was the Officer-in-Charge of several overtime shifts and allegedly received overtime pay for shifts he didn't work or left early.

The alleged overtime abuse involved overtime pay for the Accident and Injury Reduction Effort program, created to reduce accidents, crashes and injuries along the Pike.

Wilson was required to work the entire four hours of the shift and report the date, time and sector of the citations issued during the shift. Wilson allegedly submitted citations issued outside of the overtime shifts and altered them to make it seem as though they had been issued during his overtime shift and/or submitted citations that were never issued and never happened.

Court documents show investigators were able to corroborate the alleged misconduct by using information obtained through State Police radios, RMV records and records of when driver history checks were conducted on ticketed drivers.

Wilson earned approximately $230,000 in 2016, claiming to have worked 170 overtime shifts, equating to $68,000 in overtime pay. Court documents revealed that Lt. Wilson allegedly earned about $12,450 in overtime pay for hours he didn't work.

Both in 2015 and 2016, State Police received annual benefits from federal grants provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation in excess of $10,000.

If charged with embezzlement, Wilson could face up to 10 years in federal prison, along with three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 of twice what he allegedly earned in overtime pay.

Wilson was charged and arrested along with Trooper Gary Herman, 45, of Chester; and former Trooper Paul Cesan, 50, of Southwick.  On July 2, 2018, former Trooper Gregory Raftery, 47, of Westwood was charged and pleaded guilty.  On July 25, 2018, retired Trooper Daren DeJong, 56, of Uxbridge, was also charged.  On Aug. 17, suspended Trooper Kevin Sweeney, 40, of Braintree, was charged and has agreed to plead guilty.

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