Former Massachusetts State Police lieutenant sentenced in connection with overtime abuse

BOSTON – A former lieutenant in the Massachusetts State Police has pleaded guilty and been sentenced in connection with overtime abuse in Troop E, the unit previously assigned to the Massachusetts Turnpike.

According to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, David Keefe, age 57, of Norfolk, pleaded guilty Thursday in Suffolk Superior Court to Larceny Over $250 by Single Scheme (2 counts) and Public Employee Standards of Conduct Violation (False/Fraudulent Claim to Employer) (2 counts).

In 2015 and 2016, Keefe submitted fraudulent claims for more than 200 hours of overtime that he did not work.

After the plea was entered, Judge Peter Krupp sentenced Keefe to two years of probation and ordered him to pay $20,000 in restitution and to complete 100 hours of community service.

At the time of the offenses, Keefe was a supervisor in Troop E and responsible for overseeing criminal and traffic enforcement along the Massachusetts Turnpike. The AG’s Office began an investigation into overtime pay at Troop E after a referral from MSP following an internal audit that revealed potential misconduct.

The investigation revealed that Keefe, who was commander of the Weston barracks, submitted claims for pay for overtime shifts he did not work or from which he left early. According to investigators at the AG’s Office, these offenses occurred during overtime shifts for the Accident and Injury Reduction Effort program (AIRE), which was intended to increase the presence of MSP troopers on the Turnpike to deter excessive speeding and aggressive driving.

In 2015, Keefe was paid more than $204,000, which included more than $61,000 in overtime pay. Keefe submitted claims for pay for more than 50 hours of overtime that he did not work, resulting in him illegally obtaining at least $5,000.

In 2016, Keefe earned $207,878, which included more than $55,960 in overtime pay. Keefe submitted claims for pay for over 170 hours of overtime that he did not work, resulting in him illegally obtaining at least $17,000 in overpayment.

Keefe and two other former Massachusetts State Police lieutenants, David Wilson and John Giulino, were indicted by a Suffolk County Grand Jury in September 2018 for the 2016 conduct and indicted on additional charges for the 2015 conduct in December 2018. Giulino pleaded guilty and was sentenced in December 2019 and Wilson pleaded guilty and was sentenced in January 2020.

This matter was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General John Reynolds of AG Healey’s White Collar and Public Integrity Division, with assistance from Assistant Attorney General Christina Ronan of the AG’s Enterprise, Major and Cyber Crime Division. The case was investigated by Senior Financial Investigator Molly Parks and other financial investigators in the AG’s Office and Commissioned Officers assigned to the State Police Detective Unit at AG’s Office, with assistance from the AG’s Digital Evidence Lab. The State Police and Department of Transportation fully cooperated throughout the investigation.