DCM Scandal: How Fall River Officials Conflated John Perry and Ken Medeiros Cases to Mislead the Public

New video evidence contradicts Mayor Coogan and Fall River Police Chief Furtado’s claim that the John Perry investigation was referred to the Fall River Police Department (FRPD) for a criminal investigation. Mayor Coogan blocked access to the John Perry report in the courts for 18 months and Furtado made disingenuous claims on WSAR in 2025 by conflating the John Perry investigation with the Ken Medeiros investigation.

18 Months of Stonewalling: The Herald News Battle to Expose Fall River’s DCM Scandal

In April of 2022, Fall River DCM Director John Perry was secretly investigated for three days and more than a dozen DCM employees were interviewed by independent investigator Daniel Lowney. On May 1, Mayor Paul Coogan was provided a 35-page scathing report. John Perry was paid out $65,000 and allowed to resign even after damaging allegations of employee abuse, resource theft, bid splitting, and gross mismanagement of DCM.

After a $7,000 independent investigation, Mayor Coogan through the City’s legal department blocked public access to the report for 18 months and only released it to the public after an order from a judge. The Herald News had filed a lawsuit and won access to the report, but it cost the newspaper $137,000 in legal fees. The City of Fall River also racked up legal fees and had to pay out $50,000 to The Herald News in a legal settlement. Even after winning in court, the City of Fall River slow rolled releasing all the information.

Fall River Council Orders DCM Audit After Perry Misconduct Report — Then John Perry Dies and Probe Vanishes

On May 30, 2025, I wrote ‘A review of former Fall River DCM Chief John Perry’s 35 Page Misconduct Report.’ A few days later on June 1, City Councilors Cliff Ponte and Shawn Cadime filed a motion to audit DCM. On June 10, the motion to investigate DCM passed unanimously with a deadline for Mayor Coogan’s office to respond.

On June 13, three days after the City Council resolution, FRPD Chief Paul Gauvin was quoted as saying John Perry was never referred to the FRPD for a criminal investigation by the City of Fall River: “It never happened. There was never a conversation about making a determination regarding the report.”

Regarding the contention that the FRPD had received a copy of the Perry report, Gauvin said he wasn’t aware of the administration’s claim until he read it in a news report by The Herald News in November 2023. Gauvin said he even reached out to members of his command staff, who also denied seeing the Perry report. Fall River Reporter would later learn an investigation into an individual in the bulk furniture area of DCM would be criminally referred to the FRPD, but not John Perry.

On June 19th, John Perry passed away, which also seemed to end the investigation as nothing has been produced by the City since.

Another DCM Employee, Another Free Pass: Ken Medeiros and the Unprosecuted Cash Scandal

During the John Perry investigation, it was discovered that there were serious issues with “misappropriation of incoming cash” and “lack of accountability in bookkeeping” with an employee that was not John Perry.

The department was the bulk furniture area of DCM where large sums of money was flowing through DCM often unaccounted for. The person in question and primary person of interest would later be revealed by the City and FRPD as Ken Medeiros, a long time employee at DCM who passed away seven months before John Perry.

Medeiros would be investigated by the FRPD and Bristol County DA, who declined to prosecute due to the lack of accounting and details. They sent the files back to the City of Fall River who decided not to pursue an administrative investigation like the one they did with John Perry. The Ken Medeiros files made a full trip from City Hall, to the FRPD, to the DA’s office and back to City Hall with zero prosecution or accountability. Medeiros and Perry would escape any charges or accountability – to the contrary Perry was paid out by the City of Fall River $65,000 and Medeiros was paid out $15,000.

FRPD Chief Furtado interview with WSAR

On June 21, two days after John Perry’s death, FRPD Chief Kelly Furtado was interviewed by Sue Nedar on WSAR. Here is a 9-minute audio excerpt of the interview pertaining to the DCM issue and some transcribing of it.

The interview feels like an intentionally dishonest interview that conflates the John Perry investigation with the Ken Medeiros investigation. Instead of using a name, both use “DCM report” which is important because the John Perry investigation produced a report and the story was peaking before the interview (The City council motion was just 10 days early and Perry died two days earlier) and the Ken Medeiros investigation produced no report and very few people outside of the FRPD or City Hall even knew about it. So when they say “DCM report” they mean John Perry but the entire interview is about the Ken Medeiros facts and evidence, intentionally misleading listeners.

On June 21, 2025, the public was concerned about a cover up and the interview clearly set up to show that the City did the responsible thing. Also, keep in mind Sue Nader has a close relationship with Mayor Paul Coogan and WSAR receives significant annual revenue from the City’s Community Development Agency.

Here are some key points from the 9-minute excerpt:

Sue Nader: “This administration is accused of not doing the proper thing with that report. What did the administration do with that report. Did the Mayor refer that to the police department for proper handling?”

Chief Furtado: “Yes, he did.”

Sue Nader: “Wait. Say that again.”

Chief Furtado: “Yes, he did.”

Right away you have Nader guiding the discussion to the innocence of the City.

Chief Furtado goes on to talk about her conversation with Mayor Coogan who states two police officers came over to his office. The mayor states that two FRPD officers took to boxes and left. Furtado then says then Chief Gauvin calls Coogan to say “this isn’t going to go anywhere. There is no ability to investigate this and it’s dead in the water.”

Furtado then talks about the two police offers Jeff Autote and Jay Huard and how they stated they picked up the files and called over to the DA’s office. Furtado state’s the DA’s office stated there weren’t going to prosecute. Furtado then goes on to say she had one of the officer do an officer’s report and then have them record their testimony on tape.

Sue Nader: “All this media attention that says there were improprieties by this administration not looking into this. BS, right?”

Chief Furtado: “100%”

Sue Nader: “This administration is being accused of sweeping this under the rug.”

Chief Furtado: “No, they did not. I can say that 100% surety they did not.”

Sue Nader: “So, there you go.”

Sue Nader once again pushing the innocence of the City. But we’ll see that Autote and Huard later state they never picked up or investigated anything related to John Perry, only Ken Medeiros.

Sue Nader later goes on to say: “That report has been sent to every single law enforcement agency that has any authority in the state of Massachusetts. Sorry to all my friends on the City Council but that was a ridiculous unanimous vote and here’s why. Because you voted unanimously to send this report to every law enformcent agency with the caveat if they all said no you’d do your own investigation. Well, if they all decline to do it then who are you going to get to do it? Another independent investigator. Another Daniel Lowney. Which you already have. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

An important note: Furtado and Nader are talking about the Ken Medeiros investigation, but Nader mentions Daniel Lowney who investigated John Perry and was never hired to look into Ken Medeiros, which the city could have easily done. This shows that Furtado and Nader are talking about Perry, but all the details and facts are about Medeiros. The conflated the two names why saying “DCM” instead of any names.

Former FRPD Chief Gauvin stated and two other FRPD officers on video unequivocally stated that the John Perry report was never investigated or picked up from city hall. Ken Medeiros was investigated by the FRPD and the DA’s office who shifted the responsibility back to the Mayor’s office for an administrative investigation. The administrative investigation never occurred even though Mayor Coogan and others estimate the City saw a $10,000 a month increase in bulk furniture revenue after DCM was investigated and real accounting was put in place. While Medeiros was the primary person of interest, Furtado and the two FRPD officers state that the DA didn’t prosecute due to too many people being involved in cash transactions and had access to the funds.

In the interview on WSAR, Furtado talks about having two police officers interviewed that confirmed that they investigated “DCM” while insinuating it’s the John Perry report. After watching these tapes, intentionally kept from Fall River Reporter for nearly a year, both officers state they never investigated John Perry – it was only Ken Medeiros putting to rest the claim that the John Perry report was sent for criminal referral by the mayor’s office to the FRPD.

After Months of Delays and Denials, Fall River Reporter Finally Obtains Tapes

After John Perry’s death, and for much of 2025 and 2026, Fall River Reporter would request access to the interviews Furtado mentions on WSAR of the two FRPD officers that supposedly picked up the John Perry files to start a criminal investigation. Chef Furtado restricted access to the Fall River Reporter, but she did agree to allow reporter Jo Goode to come watch the tapes. Over a few months, Goode would make two appointment to watch the tapes and both times Chief Furtado would cancel. Fall River Reporter was denied access to receive the tapes and Goode would be denied access to view the tapes.

In 2025, I requested Mayor Coogan in person to go down and watch the interviews. When I asked him this month if he had watched to tapes yet, he stated he had not.

Last month, while Furtado was still police chief, the FRPD continued to delay access to the tapes of the two police officers. The latest delays were to try to bill Fall River Reporter $48 an hour, which the State denied their request. The FRPD appealed the denial and after another 15 days their appeal was denied again.

Fall River Reporter received the tapes this month and only after Chief Furtado went on leave before her retirement. Shortly after becoming acting FRPD Chief, J.T. Hoar provided access to the interviews and we will release them to the public soon.

Jay Huard: “Nothing to do with John Perry. I can tell you with 100% certainty.”

In the tapes, both officers Jay Huard and state with 100% certainty that they picked up files related to Ken Medeiros and that John Perry was never brought up or investigated. This confirms what former Chief Gauvin stated (John Perry was never referred to him for investigation) and goes against what Chief Furtado claims in her WSAR interview with Sue Nedar.

Here are some quotes from the interview:

Lt. Mendes: “At anytime during your conversation with the city or during your meeting did they bring up an investigation conducted by a private investigator.”

Jay Huard: “In regards to?”

Lt. Mendes: “It would have been a DCM employee, particularly John Perry.”

Jay Huard: “No.”

Lt. Mendes: “Ok, so that was never brought up?”

Jay Huard: “No.”

Lt. Mendes: “There was never a document shown about a past investigator that would have been hired by the city?”

Jay Huard: “I don’t recall that being private. I don’t recall. Definitely nothing to do with John Perry. I can tell you with 100% certainty.”

Lt. Mendes: “What you recall is being called over for another employee. Which was Ken Medeiros?”

Jay Huard: “Yes.”

Later Huard talks about how he knew John Perry.

Jay Huard: “John Perry I still see him around. But absolutely not [in regards to the investigation].”

Lt. Mendes: “What they are asking to have audited right now is whether or not there was ever an inquiry that came to us in scope about John Perry’s tenure with DCM.”

Jay Huard: “Not one iota of a document,” and then “No absolutely not.”

Autote confirms everything Huard stated and we will release the full interview later.

In Conclusion

It’s obvious to me why it took almost a year to gain access to the interviews – they were proof the WSAR interview was disingenuous, John Perry was never referred for criminal prosecution, the bulk furniture area of DCM was used as a slush fund for likely a decade, and taxpayers were not only left in the dark, they never got justice.