Money taken from evidence room September 29, 2021 By Stephanie Barry | SPRINGFIELD — Former West Springfield police Capt. Daniel Spaulding eluded jail time Wednesday for stealing and then returning more than $17,000 from the evidence room. Hampden Superior Court Judge Michael Callan rejected the recommendation of the state attorney...

Nee submitted false and fraudulent overtime slips for overtime hours that he did not work at the evidence warehouse October 4, 2021 BOSTON – A former Boston Police officer has been charged and has agreed to plead guilty in connection with an ongoing investigation of overtime fraud at the Boston Police Department's (BPD) evidence warehouse. Thomas N...

"Ms. Chamberlain's family has been waiting 33 years for answers. September 12, 2021 Massachusetts prosecutors announced Monday that a convicted sex offender in state custody has been charged with the rape and murder of a Boston woman in a cold case that went unsolved for 33 years. A grand jury returned an indictment for 50-year-old Richard Vega las...

Spaulding reportedly oversaw the evidence room and detective bureau from 2011 to 2016. In October 2016, he moved to the role of administrative captain, but still had access to the evidence room.ter Headline here August 4, 2021WEST SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- A former West Springfield police captain has been convicted of taking money from the dep...

Sergeant has pleaded guilty in connection to an ongoing investigation of overtime fraud at the Boston Police Department's evidence warehouse July 3, 2021 BOSTON — A former Boston police sergeant has pleaded guilty in connection to an ongoing investigation of overtime fraud at the Boston Police Department's evidence warehouse, officials announced Fr...

Carnes and eight other Boston Police officers were charged in an overtime scheme that federal prosecutors allege bilked more than $200,000 from shifts at the evidence warehouse between May 2016 and February 2019. April 26, 2021 A former Boston cop pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to ripping off overtime during shifts at the department's evid...

One overtime shift, called "purge" overtime, was scheduled from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m and focused on reducing the inventory of the evidence warehouse, authorities said. September 2, 2020  Nine current and former police officers in Boston were arrested and charged in connection with an overtime scheme that collectively netted them more than $200...

Middlesex DA Marian Ryan — who in a letter to state officials said 1,621 Middlesex cases have been called into question — is now pushing the Office of the Inspector General for answers on the OIG's lab investigation. Enter Article DATE HERE A judge's ruling that tossed out a defendant's conviction because of a drug lab scandal has now jeopardi...

  Included in a stack of slide shows and other handouts from a two-day class held in 2013 by the International Association for Property and Evidence was a survey with 21 questions about department practices on evidence and property. Whoever filled out the survey – it doesn't say – wrote down "X" marks indicating "no" next to 11 of the practice...

The lack of evidence could put the prosecution of the high-profile criminal case in jeopardy. August 14, 2020 An attorney for a former Massachusetts State Police lieutenant charged with overtime pay fraud says the law enforcement agency has lost tens of thousands of e-mails related to the high-profile criminal case, pointing to records that suggest...

​Got Something - Your may not want! December 29, 2019 Police in Massachusetts are searching for the owner of several lizards that were found abandoned in cages on a street. The Stoughton Police Department posted photos of the reptiles on its Facebook page and asked for the owners to claim them. "Have you ever walked down the street carrying your li...

"For the last 35 years, he has been confined to a prison cell, without family, without friends for a crime he didn't commit," said Radha Natarajan, of The New England Innocence Project. May 31, 2019 MILFORD, Mass. — Lawyers for a Taunton man who has spent 35 years in prison for the murder of his great aunt are asking for a new trial to vacate his c...

Braintree police are about to put a one-of-a-kind, $500,000 evidence room into service, built in response to a scandal that shook the department. April 18, 2019 BRAINTREE − There's a whole lot of glass inside the Braintree Police Department's new evidence room, but not a single window to the outside. From where the evidence officers sit, they can l...

"We now feel confident that the man identified as Michael Sumpter entered Jane's apartment through the window, assaulted her, murdered her in her bed and then fled the apartment," Ryan told reporters Tuesday. Enter Article DATE HERE Investigators finally have cracked a cold case murder that has haunted the Boston area for almost 50 years. The ...

Enter Headline here September 21, 2018 A defense attorney has called for a federal investigation into scandals at the state's drug labs in Jamaica Plain and Amherst. The scandals, which first came to light more than five years ago, have led to the dismissal of more than 30,000 drug convictions because of misconduct by state chemists and prosecutors...

"Chief Jenkins and Deputy Chief Foster repeatedly failed to supervise and implement the department's rules and regulations by not conducting the required the required audits and inspections of the evidence room," August 23, 2018 BRAINTREE − Two Braintree Police employees named in the investigation of the department's evidence room have retired rath...

Officer in charge of the room killed herself in 2016 August 9, 2018 The attorney general's investigation into oversight of the Braintree Police Department's evidence room found that guns, drugs, and cash were stolen for years, but determined no criminal charges will be filed. The report released Wednesday said the officer in charge of the room kill...

Bill would require spot audits June 12, 2018 A bill up for debate today aims to clean up the state's scandal-plagued evidence rooms by ordering police departments file twice-a-year spot audits with the state, with a full accounting of all evidence every five years. The measure before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary was filed by state Rep. Mark...

Bill would require spot audits June 12, 2018 A bill up for debate today aims to clean up the state's scandal-plagued evidence rooms by ordering police departments file twice-a-year spot audits with the state, with a full accounting of all evidence every five years. The measure before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary was filed by state Rep. Mark...

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on Tuesday heard arguments over dismissing up to 11,000 more cases connected to the Amherst drug lab and potential punishments in the mishandling of the drug lab case, including the possibility of substantial fines for the attorney general's office. May 11, 2018 2018 Associated press/file 2013 Former Amherst...

Healey's promise comes amid ongoing litigation regarding the state's Amherst drug lab, which was shut down in 2013 following the arrest of former chemist Sonja Farak for stealing from the evidence locker. April 26, 2018 Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has committed to measures to guard against the kind of egregious prosecutorial miscond...

Spaulding is accused of taking more than $1,000 from the West Springfield Police Department evidence room between May 2016 and May 2017.​ April 26, 2018 SPRINGFIELD -- West Springfield Police Capt. Daniel Spaulding, suspended from the force in 2017, was arraigned Thursday in connection with the alleged theft of more than $1,000 from the department....

Consultant's report that found the Police Department failed to follow numerous evidence policy requirements that led to the mishandling of property and evidence. April 5, 2017 DRACUT -- There will be no disciplinary action for Deputy Police Chief David Chartrand and Sgt. Gregg Byam will be suspended for one day without pay over their administration...

The order vacates an estimated 11,000 convictions in 7,700 criminal cases, the majority of them from Hampden County. April 5, 2018 On Thursday, the state's top court issued yet another sweeping dismissal order stemming from misconduct by a former chemist at the Amherst drug lab and two former state prosecutors. The order vacates an estimated 11,000...

"Authorities further found that Spaulding later replaced all of the missing cash and returned the missing evidence bags in May 2017. Enter Article DATE HERE Attorney General Maura's Healey's office has confirmed West Springfield Police Capt. Daniel Spaulding was indicted on Friday for allegedly stealing more than $1,000 from the city's police ...

Prosecutors said the synthetic opioid was being sold on the street by a drug gang with links to Mexico's notorious Sinaloa Cartel, the drug organization once led by Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán February 9, 2018 Authorities in Boston have seized more than 33 pounds of fentanyl - enough to kill millions of people - in connection with one of Massachusett...

A former Framingham police officer who pleaded guilty to stealing cash from police headquarters was stripped of his pension Tuesday by the Framingham Retirement Board. Enter Article DATE HERE FRAMINGHAM — Fresh off a stint in jail, a former Framingham police officer who pleaded guilty to stealing cash from police headquarters was stripped of h...

Fentanyl and carfentanil will be banned from Bay State courtrooms beginning next week because trial court officials fear the potentially deadly risk of handling the potent and toxic opioids. January 4, 2018 Fentanyl and carfentanil will be banned from Bay State courtrooms beginning next week because trial court officials fear the potentially deadly...

Over 6,000 charges will be dropped due to Sonja Farak's illicit actions. December 1, 2017 For the second time in recent memory, Massachusetts has announced thousands of drug convictions will be dismissed following official malfeasance in the state's labs. According to the Boston Globe, the state district attorney's office said on Thursday that more...

Enter Headline here Enter Article DATE HERE WOBURN – A former Framingham Police officer tearfully apologized after pleading guilty Tuesday to stealing more than $19,000 from the police department's evidence room more than two years ago. Alan Dubeshter, 56, pleaded with Middlesex Superior Court Judge Jack Lu not to send him to jail. "I made a t...

Sgt. also implicated in the evidence locker controversy, is the subject of another separate hearing. Enter Article DATE HERE DRACUT -- Deputy Police Chief David Chartrand, suspended last year for two weeks for his handling of documents in a lieutenant's personnel file, is the subject of an upcoming disciplinary hearing centered on the administ...

Allegedly stole about $2,000 from the file of a closed bank robbery case in January while assigned to the Evidence Management Unit Enter Article DATE HERE A Boston police officer was indicted on charges of stealing money from the department's evidence room and attempting to launder it at Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, Massachusetts. Jos...

Montague Police Chief Charles Dodge III, a recovering oxycodone addict Enter Article DATE HERE Montague Police Chief Charles Dodge III, a recovering oxycodone addict, was the subject of an Attorney General investigation into mishandling of the department's prescription drug drop off program last year, according to an investigation by the Green...

Nee is accused of stealing approximately $2,000 from the evidence related to a closed bank robbery case in January, the AG's Office said. October 12, 2017 BOSTON — Boston police Officer Joseph Nee is accused of stealing money from the department's evidence room and trying to launder it at Plainridge Park Casino. Nee, 44, was indicted Thursday by a ...

"It is clear from the audit, that the appropriate steps contained within the training material were never implemented or followed." October 6, 2017 DRACUT -- Although the Middlesex District Attorney's Office has found no indication that the integrity of any evidence within the Dracut Police Department has been compromised, former interim Chief Neil...

In the first case, after five years, the Massachusetts supreme court eventually forced state prosecutors to compile a list of affected defendants and ultimately dismiss 98.5 percent of the cases involved, with more than 21,000 drug convictions erased.Enter Headline here October 4, 2017 Twice in recent years, chemists used by the state of Massachuse...

The town council approved a three-year contract with its police unions that includes a provision for random drug testing. September 22, 2017 BRAINTREE – New contracts with town police unions call for officers to undergo random drug testing. The contracts, with the Braintree Police Superior Officers Association and the Braintree Police Officers Asso...

The former supervisor of the police department's evidence room remains on track to face trial on two felony charges after a judge refused to dismiss allegations he abused his position for personal gain. Enter Article DATE HERE Middlesex Superior Court Judge Thomas P. Billings last week denied a request to drop the charge, finding a grand jury ...

Last year, Gulluni released a computer-generated rendering of a suspect using new technology that analyzed the DNA to predict the suspect's physical characteristics. September 18, 2017 SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Massachusetts prosecutors say they've made an arrest in the slaying of a middle school teacher's aide 25 years ago. A court on Friday issued an...

Farak reported smoking crack in the bathroom at the lab all morning and pilfered some LSD before lunch September 6, 2017 SPRINGFIELD -- A civil rights lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court combines nearly every recent high-profile law enforcement scandal in the region -- which, according to the complaint, collided to unfairly put one man behind bars...

A civil rights lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court combines nearly every recent high-profile law enforcement scandal in the region September 5, 2017 SPRINGFIELD -- A civil rights lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court combines nearly every recent high-profile law enforcement scandal in the region -- which, according to the complaint, collided to unf...

Even as prosecutors scramble to address state drug laboratory misconduct that could undermine upwards of 18,000 cases statewide, a judge has lambasted law enforcement officials for their handling of the case September 2, 2017 AMHERST — Even as prosecutors scramble to address state drug laboratory misconduct that could undermine upwards of 18,000 ca...

A similar scandal in another Massachusetts crime lab, in which chemist Annie Dookhan was convicted of evidence tampering, resulted in the dismissal of 20,000 drug cases. August 27, 2017 In an editorial on Wednesday, the Daily Hampshire Gazette urged Massachusetts lawmakers to allocate funds for a comprehensive review of drug convictions based on ev...

The approximately $18,000, sources agreed, remained unaccounted for from three separate drug cases. August 18, 2017 WEST SPRINGFIELD - The mayor and police chief today confirmed that the second highest-ranking official in the police department has been placed on indefinite paid administrative leave amid an investigation into "discrepancies" involvi...

A former Framingham Police officer who was in charge of the department's evidence room is now facing criminal charges after authorities said he used his access to steal $20,000 from the department nearly a year and a half ago. January 26, 2017 FRAMINGHAM - A former Framingham Police officer who was in charge of the department's evidence room is now...

A former Framingham Police officer who was in charge of the department's evidence room is now facing criminal charges after authorities said he used his access to steal $20,000 from the department nearly a year and a half ago. Enter Article DATE HERE FRAMINGHAM - A former Framingham Police officer who was in charge of the department's evidence...

He died of an apparent suicide while under criminal indictment for allegedly stealing almost $400,000 from the Springfield Police Department's evidence room. August 10, 2017 SPRINGFIELD -- The widow of Kevin Burnham has agreed to relinquish the balance of Burnham's retirement annuity after he died of an apparent suicide while under criminal indictm...

Police officer accused of stealing money from the department's evidence room August 10, 2017 FRAMINGHAM — With his case scheduled to go to trial next month, an ex-Framingham police officer accused of stealing money from the department's evidence room is asking a judge to drop one of the charges against him. A lawyer representing former evidence roo...

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic drug that's not only dangerous to the user, but for everyone nearby, including first responders. August 5, 2017 (WWLP) – Saturday, three police officers in the Boston suburb of Chelsea were affected by second hand exposure to Fentanyl. Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic drug that's not only dangerous to the user, but ...

They were also the only two departments that said they would need to charge a fee for the information. July 12, 2017 Most police departments questioned by MassLive about the number of untested rape kits among items in the evidence room shelves were able to produce an answer quickly and free of cost, but two departments said it would take hours of w...