Press Release  Former West Springfield Police Captain Found Guilty of Taking More Than $17,000 From Evidence Room for Personal Use

BOSTON — A former West Springfield Police captain has been found guilty of taking more than $17,000 from the evidence room at the city’s police department and using it for personal purposes, including to pay his mortgage, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.

On Monday, following a five-day bench trial in Hampden Superior Court, Judge Michael Callan found Daniel Spaulding, age 54, of West Springfield, guilty on the charge of Use of Official Position to Obtain an Unwarranted Privilege. He will be sentenced on Sept. 21.

The AG’s Office began an investigation following a referral from the West Springfield Police Department and the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office. Authorities found that between May 2016 and May 2017, Spaulding had in his personal possession more than $17,000 from the West Springfield Police Department evidence room. They further found that Spaulding later replaced all of the missing cash and returned the missing evidence bags in May 2017.

From 2011 to 2016, Spaulding oversaw the department’s detective bureau and the evidence room. In October 2016, he was transferred to the role of Administrative Captain, but retained access to the evidence room. In March of 2017, the West Springfield Police Department conducted an inventory of cash in their evidence room that had been forfeited by the court and discovered that there were three missing evidence bags of money totaling $17,611.

In May 2017, the AG’s Office interviewed Spaulding who was not forthcoming about the details of the missing evidence bags. Spaulding later turned over the missing evidence bags to the West Springfield Police Department, saying he had believed they had been tampered with and took the money to his office for safekeeping to give to the auditors. When the money was turned over, it was examined by investigators who determined that some of the bills were paid out by the Federal Reserve after the date the money had been originally seized, indicating that the money from the evidence bags had been replaced.

This case was prosecuted by Chief Trial Counsel Jim O’Brien and Special Assistant Attorney General Jane Tomic, both of AG Healey’s Criminal Bureau, with assistance from Financial Investigator Jill Petruzziello, Senior Victim Witness Advocate Megan Murphy, and Senior Digital Evidence Analyst James McCoy of the AG’s Digital Evidence Lab. The investigation was handled by State Police assigned to the AG’s Office with assistance and full cooperation from the West Springfield Police Department and the City of West Springfield.

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