Former MA State Senator Dean Tran accused of using staff to campaign for him while on state time, state payroll

BOSTON – Former State Senator Dean Tran has been indicted by the Suffolk County Grand Jury convened at the request of the Attorney General’s Office and charged with two counts of violating the state ethics law, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell announced.

Tran, 47, of Fitchburg, was charged with the Use of Official Position to Secure an Unwarranted Privilege (2 counts) when he used his Senate staff to campaign for him on state time and payroll. Tran will be arraigned in Suffolk County Superior Court at a later date.

The matter was referred to the Attorney General’s Office by the Office of Campaign and Political Finance following a report from the Senate Committee on Ethics in 2020 that found Tran inappropriately used his Senate staff to conduct campaign activities.

The AG’s Office alleges that during both his 2018 and 2020 re-election campaigns, Tran used members of his Senate staff to campaign for him while those staff members were on state time, state payroll, and purportedly working for the Legislature. Their campaign activities included, but were not limited to, organizing fundraisers, knocking doors, and crafting campaign mailers. These activities took place during official work hours at the MassGOP campaign regional field office in Fitchburg.

According to the state’s conflict of interest law, state, county and municipal public employees are prohibited from using public resources in connection with political campaigns or other private political activity. This includes engaging in political activity on public work time. Public employees can obtain free, confidential advice about the conflict-of-interest law from the State Ethics Commission’s Legal Division by submitting an online request or calling 617-371-9500.

The prosecutor assigned to this matter is AAG Kristen Sullivan, of AG Campbell’s White Collar and Public Integrity Division. AGO Financial Investigator Gillian Daly provided support to the investigation.

In July of 2022, Tran was indicted by a Worcester Grand Jury on the charges of Larceny of a Firearm (1 count), Larceny Over $250 from Person +60/Disabled (1 count), Filing an Application for a License to Carry Containing False Information (1 count), Obtaining a Signature by False Pretenses with Intent to Defraud (1 count), Misleading a Police Investigation (1 count), and Stealing by Confining or Putting in Fear (1 count).

The AG’s Office alleged then that, in June 2019 while visiting an elderly constituent, Tran used his position of trust as a public official to intimidate the constituent into parting with her late husband’s firearms, making her sign a pre-prepared contract and giving her $1,500 in cash for at least eight guns. When asked to return them the next day, he did, but came back early the following morning and allegedly forced his way into the constituent’s home while she was alone, demanded the keys to her husband’s gun safe, and stole a Colt .45 while the constituent hid in her bedroom. The gun was returned to the constituent at a later date.

Tran pled not guilty to the 2022 charges.