Press Release  Former State Police Lieutenant Pleads Guilty in Overtime Abuse Case

Boston — A former lieutenant in the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) has pleaded guilty and been sentenced in connection with overtime abuse in Troop E, the unit previously assigned to the Massachusetts Turnpike.

David Wilson, age 59, of Charlton, pleaded guilty today in Suffolk Superior Court to Larceny Over $250 by Single Scheme (2 counts), Procurement Fraud (2 counts), and Public Employee Standards of Conduct Violation (False/Fraudulent Claim to Employer) (2 counts).

In 2015 and 2016, Wilson submitted fraudulent claims for pay for nearly 300 hours of overtime that he did not work, resulting in him obtaining more than $31,000 that he did not earn.

After the plea was entered, Judge Robert N. Tochka sentenced Wilson to two years of probation and ordered him to pay $18,994 in restitution and serve 200 hours of community service. Prosecutors from the AG’s Office recommended that Wilson be sentenced to one to two years in state prison, followed by two years of probation.

At the time of the offenses, Wilson was a supervisor in Troop E and responsible for overseeing criminal and traffic enforcement along the Massachusetts Turnpike. The AG’s Office began an investigation into overtime pay at Troop E after a referral from MSP following an internal audit that revealed potential misconduct.

The investigation revealed that Wilson allegedly submitted claims for pay for overtime shifts he did not work or which he arrived late to, left early from, or overlapped with his regular shift. According to investigators at the AG’s Office, these alleged offenses occurred during overtime shifts for the Accident and Injury Reduction Effort program (AIRE), which was intended to increase the presence of MSP troopers on the Turnpike to deter excessive speeding and aggressive driving.  

Troopers assigned to these AIRE shifts were expected to work their assigned hours as scheduled and accurately report information about traffic citations issued, including the date, time and shift during which it was written. 

Wilson, who was a shift commander in Troop E’s Duty Office in Boston, allegedly regularly scheduled his overtime shifts directly before his regular shifts but submitted claims for both shifts so that he was double paid for a number of overlapping hours.

In 2015, Wilson was paid over $270,000, including more than $120,000 in overtime pay. During that year, Wilson submitted fraudulent claims for pay for 116 hours of overtime, resulting in him obtaining more than $11,000 for hours that he did not work.

In 2016, Wilson earned nearly $260,000, including more than $100,000 in overtime pay. He submitted fraudulent claims for pay for 173 hours of overtime, resulting in him obtaining more than $19,000 for hours that he did not work.

In an attempt to conceal his misconduct, Wilson at times submitted falsified traffic citations to MSP to make it appear they had been issued during his overtime shifts, when in fact they were not issued during his overtime shifts or never issued at all.  

Wilson was indicted by a Suffolk County Grand Jury in September 2018 for the 2016 conduct and indicted on additional charges for the 2015 conduct in December 2018.

The AG’s Office also indicted two other former Massachusetts State Police lieutenants, John Giulino and David Keefe, for similar alleged conduct. Giulino pleaded guilty and was sentenced in December 2019, and the case against Keefe is ongoing.

This matter was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General John Reynolds and Chief Trial Counsel James O’Brien, both of AG Healey’s White Collar and Public Integrity Division. The case was investigated by Senior Financial Investigators Molly Parks and Shannon Roark, Criminal Investigator Michael Azevedo, and Commissioned Officers assigned to the State Police Detective Unit at the Office of the Attorney General, with assistance from the AG’s Digital Evidence Lab. MSP and MassDOT fully cooperated throughout the investigation. 

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