No charges in Braintree evidence scandal, audit finds 'significant failures'

BRAINTREE, Mass. — The Braintree Police Department leadership failed to address a number of glaring system and security issues in its evidence room, a third-party audit has found.

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office announced Wednesday no one will face criminal charges in the evidence room scandal.

In 2016, more than $400,000 in cash -- as well as several guns and drugs -- were reported missing from the evidence room.

Multiple cases had to be thrown out since the evidence was gone.

The Attorney General's office says a grand jury heard from two dozen witnesses, but didn't find sufficient evidence for charges.

“Our office conducted a thorough investigation into this matter," spokesperson Emalie Gainey said in a statement. "The death of the individual who stole the evidence precludes any further criminal action and the evidence did not support criminal charges against any other individual.”

However, a third-party investigation conducted by Kroll Associates found Deputy Chief Wayne Foster "failed to properly manage and oversee his duties."

MORE: Drugs, guns, and cash missing from Braintree PD evidence room

The officer presiding over the evidence room died before investigators discovered everything that was missing, and Kroll wrote in its report that supervising officers should have addressed her behavior and concerns.

“It is Kroll’s opinion that there was a significant failure of oversight and security of the BPD evidence program that included inadequate security systems and a failure to conduct any type of audit and/or review. Numerous warning signs were known but not addressed concerning Officer [Susan] Zopatti’s actions and attendance issues or prior incident involving missing money from the evidence room,” the report states. “These failures resulted in the dismissal of 185 criminal cases in Norfolk County, the loss of $255,063.12 in cash from the evidence room and the theft and disappearance of multiple firearms and property from the evidence room.”

The report states Officer Zopatti’s behavior and the concerns she verbalized should have triggered a review of the department’s procedures, but noted management failed to act.

You can read the full report.

RELATED: Drug cases thrown out during Braintree police evidence audit

Editor's Note: Kroll Associates' managing director, Dan Linskey, is a contributor to Boston 25 News as a security analyst. 

Cox Media Group