Massachusetts taxpayers and drivers help to fund billions of dollars into the state’s transportation budget every year with the expectation that their hard-earned money is going to good use.
But a 25 Investigates probe into the highest earners at one MassDOT facility reveals hours submitted on legally binding timecards do not always appear to equal time on the job.
Following a 231-day undercover investigation that began in September 2025, 25 Investigates has uncovered a systemic pattern of questionable overtime billing among the top-earning maintenance workers at a MassDOT District Six facility in Charlestown.
Two days after 25 Investigates presented its findings to state officials, MassDOT confirmed it had placed seven employees on administrative leave and launched an internal investigation.
$84,000 BASE, $240,000 WITH OVERTIME
At the center of the probe is a group of Highway Maintenance Worker II employees. In 2025, the highest-paid worker with that title in the state was Zachary Fuller, according to publicly available data from the Office of the MA Comptroller.
Fuller commands a base salary of roughly $84,000 a year, just higher than the sticker price of the 2025 GMC pickup truck he drives to work. But state payroll records reveal that with extensive overtime paid at time-and-a-half, Fuller’s total compensation skyrocketed to $240,000 last year, nearly three times his base salary.
The extraordinary earnings did not go unnoticed, even on social media. Under a 2021 post on Fuller’s Facebook page, someone asked him: “Got to tell us how you make $214,000 a year? Lol”
Fuller is far from alone in cleaning up on overtime. According to state data, at least half of the top-earning highway maintenance workers in Massachusetts are concentrated at the Charlestown yard. Payroll records show these workers routinely billing back-to-back shifts, clocking grueling overnight hours immediately followed by regular eight-hour day shifts.
However, a months-long surveillance operation conducted by 25 Investigates from a vantage point overlooking the facility suggests the math does not always add up.
UNDERCOVER SURVEILLANCE
By logging vehicle departure times from the Charlestown yard and comparing them directly to the timesheets obtained through a public records request, 25 Investigates documented multiple instances where top earners left the yard in their personal vehicles hours before their reported shifts ended.
On days when Fuller claimed overtime until 3:30 p.m., 25 Investigates observed his GMC pickup leaving the facility at 11:49 a.m., 11:03 a.m., and 11:24 a.m.
Fuller indicated on his timesheets that his overtime was needed for weed wacking, pouring a “bench pad”, and organizing “the yard”, among other things.
A similar pattern emerged with Dana Bell, who pulled down $228,000 in 2025, with $137,000 of that coming strictly from overtime. Bell’s timecards state he worked overtime until the afternoon on four separate days when 25 Investigates witnessed his Jeep driving away from the facility hours earlier. On one of those days, Bell’s vehicle was photographed parked outside his personal residence at 12:42 p.m.—despite his timesheet claiming he was on the clock until 3:00 p.m., washing and cleaning trucks.
Timothy Manning, who submitted nearly 1,700 hours of overtime last year, netting an extra $100,000 on top of his salary. Manning’s red truck left the facility hours ahead of his reported departure times on six different occasions. On three of those days, 25 Investigates observed his truck parked at his home while he was still collecting time and a half.
‘COMPLETELY OUTRAGEOUS’
“For the average taxpayer, this is completely outrageous,” said Paul Craney, Executive Director of the Mass Fiscal Alliance, a government watchdog group that reviewed the findings. “It’s taxpayer money. But people running our state government are not paying attention to what’s happening with their payroll. This doesn’t happen in the private sector, or if it does, it’s extremely rare.”
When asked about the apparent discrepancies, the workers offered little explanation.
“There were several days you reported working a full day, and we watched you leave early and saw you at home,” Investigative Reporter Ted Daniel asked Manning outside the MassDOT facility.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Manning replied.
When highway worker Brian Walker was asked if he was working all the hours, he logged, he declined to answer, stating, “I have no comment.”
Steve Teixeira, who pulled in $97,000 in overtime last year, was observed leaving the yard in the late morning on two days he claimed to have worked until 3:00 p.m. Asked directly if he was working the hours he recorded, Teixeira replied, “Yes, sir.”
25 Investigates was unable to question Fuller, who routinely parks his truck behind a “No Trespassing” sign at the facility. Attempts to reach him via email and at two separate addresses listed in public records were unsuccessful. 25 Investigates never witnessed an employee return to the yard after departing in their personal vehicle. Yet, according to agency records, every single overtime hour was approved by a supervisor.
The financial discrepancies become sharper when compared to neighboring states. In New Hampshire, the top-paid Department of Transportation employee holding the exact same job title took home a combined total of $79,000 last year, including both base pay and overtime.
MASSDOT RESPONSE AND ACTION
25 Investigates requested an interview with Governor Healey’s Secretary of Transportation, Phil Eng, to address this report. That request was denied.
Among the written questions submitted to the administration was a request to explain why it required external surveillance by a local news organization to uncover the apparent timesheet discrepancies. The agency did not answer the question directly and issued a statement instead.
“MassDOT takes any allegation of improperly reporting time worked extremely seriously,” part of the statement read. “We expect all employees to accurately report time worked and supervisors to properly review and certify time records — it’s the law.”
The agency maintained that if any employee or supervisor is found to have entered or certified fraudulent time records, they will be held fully accountable.
As the state’s internal investigation gets underway, the seven suspended workers remain off the job. 25 Investigates will continue to track the findings of the audit.
The full timecard records provided to 25 Investigates by MassDOT can be seen below:
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