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Ex-Boston police captain charged in overtime fraud scheme

BOSTON — A former Boston police captain has been arrested on charges that he collected more than $12,000 in an overtime pay fraud scheme at the department’s evidence warehouse, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

Richard Evans, 62, of Hanover, faces charges including conspiracy to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds.

Authorities say Evans, who oversaw the Boston Police Department’s Evidence Control Unit, conspired with officers he supervised to collect overtime pay they didn’t deserve. Evans submitted false overtime slips for hours he didn’t work and signed off on dozens of bogus slips filed by his subordinates, prosecutors say.

“It is deeply troubling when officers who have sworn to uphold the law violate their oath and use their badge as a license to commit a crime,” Joseph Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston division, said in an emailed statement.

Evans was released from custody on certain conditions after appearing before a Boston federal court judge via videoconference. His attorney, Ed Masferrer, said Evans “completely and unequivocally denies the charges against him.”

“Mr. Evans looks forward to reviewing the Government’s charges and proving his innocence at trial,” Masferrer said in an email.

The arrest stems from an ongoing federal investigation into overtime abuse at the Boston Police Department’s evidence warehouse. In September, authorities said nine current and former officers who worked there were charged with collecting a total of more than $200,000 in overtime pay they were not entitled to. Several former Massachusetts State Police officers have also been charged in federal court with overtime pay abuse.

Prosecutors say officers at the evidence warehouse could earn overtime pay on a shift in which they scanned and cataloged inventory and disposed of seized narcotics. Authorities say the officers claimed to work from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. even though alarm records show that the warehouse was frequently locked and alarmed by 6 p.m. or earlier.


This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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