Braintree State Trooper Sentenced In Overtime Abuse Scandal

BOSTON — A suspended Massachusetts state trooper from Braintree was sentenced in U.S. District Court Friday after prosecutors proved he was paid over $5,900 for overtime he didn't work. Kevin Sweeney, 40, was sentenced to two months in prison with one year probation (the first three months of which will be served in home detention) after pleading guilty to embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds and wire fraud. Sweeney was one of 20 troopers across the state investigated by the Attorney General's office.

Sweeney admitted that between Sept. 1, 2016, and Dec. 31, 2016, he was paid over $5,900 for overtime shifts that he either did not work at all or from which he left early. He also admitted his fraudulent citations cost Massachusetts more than $5,000.

According to court documents, Sweeney hid this by submitting fake citations designed to create the appearance that he had worked overtime hours that he had not, and falsely claimed in State Police paperwork and payroll entries that he had worked the entirety of his overtime shifts.

For example, on Dec. 14, 2016, Sweeney claimed in State Police payroll submissions and other paperwork to have worked an overtime shift from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Court documents said Sweeney wrote eight motor vehicle citations during the shift and submitted copies of those citations to State Police as evidence that he had worked. Except, Sweeney's cruiser radio was not turned on during the overtime shift, he did not run any driver histories during the shift, and Registry of Motor Vehicle records reflect that none of the motorists that Sweeney claims to have cited actually received a citation that day.

Along with the jail time, Sweeney was ordered to pay a fine of $4,000 and restitution in the amount of $11,103.

Previously:

• 4 More MA Troopers Suspended In Connection To Overtime
• 20 State Troopers Being Investigated For OT Fraud: State Police
• MA State Trooper Pleads Guilty To Overtime Scam
• Another Mass. State Police Trooper Charged In Overtime Pay Fraud