Missing Braintree Police Evidence Found in Officer's Home: Report

BRAINTREE, MA — Two guns missing from the Braintree Police Department's evidence room were in the home of the person in charge of the room, a new report said.

WCVB reports that of the eight firearms unaccounted for, two of them were located at the home of Officer Susan Zopatti, who was in charge of the room until her death in May. One of the guns belongs to Michael Flemmi, a former Boston police officer who served time in prison for hiding guns for his brother, mobster Stephen Flemmi, and mob boss Whitey Bulger.

Heat-sealed evidence bags were broken into, some narcotics evidence was replaced with other drugs. and rape kits were being stored in an outside trailer, according to the news station.

In August, it was reported that an outside investigator was being brought in to audit the police department's evidence room. The audit is focused on cases from the past three years and has reportedly found that in addition to the weapons, over $70,000 in cash and 1,000 pieces of drug evidence are missing.

District Attorney Michael Morrissey recently said his office would not use tainted evidence. He said his office has already identified impacted cases and will be reaching out to defense attorneys.

Mayor Joseph Sullivan said some of the evidence has been found. A report is expected to be released at the end of the investigation.

Image: Patch file photo