Massachusetts State Police found years-old records in fraud scandal after telling prosecutors they did not exist

The new development again raises concerns about State Police record-keeping practices and sparks questions about just how rigorous the agency is when investigating its own.

Massachusetts State Police headquarters
A Jessica Rinaldi/Boston Globe image

– News covered by Quincy Quarry News.

Massachusetts State Police found years-old records in fraud scandal after telling prosecutors they did not exist

About a year and a half into the ongoing criminal investigation of trooper payroll fraud, this summer Massachusetts State Police officials “suddenly” unearthed boxes of key documents that prosecutors had long sought but State Police said didn’t exist, according to a recent court filing.

No word, however, from what landfill the long missing records may have been unearthed or if threats by federal prosecutors to pursue felony evidence tampering sorts of charges may have helped see records reappear.

City of Quincy records management unit in action
A Patrick Ronan/Patrick Ledger image

The newly “discovered” citation and trooper activity records, most of which are believed to be from 2014 and earlier, indicate point to wrongdoing by at least one trooper — and potentially much more.”

Generally speaking, state and local agencies are required to retain records for upwards of a decade or more as well as supposed to receive approval to destroy old records from the Public Records unit of the Office of the Massachusetts Secretary of State.

Source: State Police found years-old records in fraud scandal after telling prosecutors they didn’t exist

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