MASSACHUSETTS
STATE TROOPER PLEADS GUILTY
IN OVERTIME ABUSE
INVESTIGATION
BOSTON – A retired Massachusetts State
Police Trooper pleaded guilty today to collecting over $29,000 in overtime pay
that he did not work.
Paul Cesan, 50, of Southwick, who was
previously arrested and charged on June 27, 2018, pleaded guilty to one count
of embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds. U.S. Senior District
Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock scheduled sentencing for March 12, 2019.
Cesan was a Massachusetts State Police (MSP) Trooper assigned to Troop E, which
was responsible for enforcing criminal and traffic regulations along the Massachusetts
Turnpike, Interstate I-90. In 2016, Cesan earned $163,533, which included
approximately $50,866 in overtime pay.
Cesan was paid for overtime shifts that he did not work at all or from which he
left early. Cesan concealed his fraud by submitting fraudulent citations
designed to create the appearance that he had worked overtime hours that he had
not, and falsely claimed in MSP paperwork and payroll entries that he had
worked the entirety of his overtime shifts.
Cesan has admitted collecting $29,287 for overtime hours that he did not
work.
The overtime in question involved the Accident and Injury Reduction Effort
program (AIRE) and the “X-Team” initiative, which were intended to reduce
accidents, crashes, and injuries on I-90 through an enhanced presence of MSP
Troopers who were to target vehicles traveling at excessive speeds.
In 2016, MSP received annual benefits from the U.S. Department of
Transportation in excess of $10,000, which were funded pursuant to numerous
federal grants.
Cesan is the fourth Trooper to plead guilty as a result of the ongoing
investigation. On July 2, 2018, former Trooper Gregory Raftery, 47, of
Westwood, pleaded guilty, on Sept. 14, 2018, suspended Trooper Kevin Sweeney,
40, of Braintree, pleaded guilty, and on Oct. 11, 2018, suspended Trooper Gary
Herman, 45, of Chester, pleaded guilty. Three others have been charged: former
Lieutenant David Wilson, 57, of Charlton; retired Trooper Daren DeJong, 56, of
Uxbridge; and suspended Trooper Eric Chin.
Pursuant to the plea agreement, the
government will recommend a sentence of between 10 and 16 months in prison. The
charge of theft of government funds provides for a sentence of no greater than
10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000
or twice the gross gain or loss. Sentences are imposed by a federal district
court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory
factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling;
Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
Boston Field Division; and Douglas Shoemaker, Special Agent in Charge of the
U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, made the
announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dustin Chao and Mark Grady of
Lelling’s Public Corruption Unit are prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the court
documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent
unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
