BOSTON (WWLP) – A retired Boston Police Captain was convicted Friday by a federal jury in Boston of orchestrating and participating in a long-running overtime fraud scheme at the Boston Police Department’s (BPD) evidence warehouse that cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands.
According to the Department of Justice, Richard Evans, 65, of Hanover, was convicted of conspiracy to commit theft concerning federally funded programs, theft concerning federally funded programs, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud. Judge Richard G. Stearns has scheduled the sentencing for June 20, 2024. In March 2021, Evans was arrested and charged with a variety of offenses.
“Every resident of Massachusetts has a right to expect that those of us in law-enforcement will uphold the law. When an individual violates that expectation, it hits to the core. It undermines the public’s confidence in our profession,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “Mr. Evans’ greed is not a reflection of the Boston Police Department or the many men and women in law-enforcement who serve with integrity. However, when individuals put their greed before their public duty, they must be held accountable.”
“Today’s verdict proves no one is above the law. Captain Richard Evans shrugged off his sworn oath, broke the law to pad his paycheck, failed to lead by example and betrayed the citizens of Boston,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “The FBI will continue to root out police corruption on behalf of the vast majority of hard-working officers who carry out their duties honestly and honorably. We thank the Boston Police Department for its full cooperation with this investigation.”
Evans served as the commander of the BPD’s Evidence Control Unit (ECU) from May 2012 to March 2016, where he was responsible for overseeing the storing, cataloging, and retrieval of evidence at the warehouse. Evans, a 37-year veteran and one of the highest-ranking officers in the BPD, was responsible for approving overtime for ECU officers, which was paid at 1.5 times their regular hourly rate.
From the moment Evans assumed control of the ECU, he submitted and approved overtime slips that grossly overstated the amount of time worked. Hundreds of overtime slips were submitted by Evans for hours he did not work. During his tenure as a supervisor, Evans routinely approved overtime slips, certifying false overtime hours submitted by subordinates. On Monday through Thursday, the standard overtime shift was supposed to be performed from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. However, officers only worked about two hours during this time period.
The officers initially split the overtime shift – one half worked the 4-6 p.m. shift, the other half worked the 6-8 p.m. shift, but both claimed to have worked the full four-hour shift from 4-8 p.m. As a result of splitting the shift, Evans and the officers were paid twice as much as they actually worked.
Due to the split shifts, it appeared as though everyone was in the warehouse for the full four-hour shift, thus concealing the overtime theft. Towards the end of Evans’ tenure, he and other officers stopped splitting the shift and consistently left two or three hours early, while billing for a full four-hour shift.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Evans misled his superior officers about the purge overtime scheme in order to conceal the fact that officers were inflating their overtime hours. In his 3.5 years as commander of the ECU, Evans earned over $120,000 in overtime payments, in addition to his base salary of more than $200,000.
For conspiracy to commit theft concerning federally funded programs, a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. For theft of federal funds, an individual may be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
As a result of the charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 can be imposed.
Kayleigh Thomas is a digital reporter who has been a part of the 22News team since 2022. Follow Kayleigh on X @kayleighcthomas and view her bio to see more of her work.
Kayleigh Thomas
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