Former sergeant is 7th Boston police officer to plead guilty in overtime fraud scheme

By WCVB Staff

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    BOSTON (WCVB-D2, WCVB) — A seventh officer of the Boston Police Department pleaded guilty Friday in connection with the ongoing investigation into overtime fraud at the department’s evidence warehouse.

Former Sgt. William Baxter, 62, of Hyde Park, pleaded guilty in US District Court to one count of conspiracy to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and one count of embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds.

Prosecutors said Baxter falsely claimed to have worked two kinds of overtime shifts between March 2015 and June 2016. The first was a weekday shift where officers were supposed to dispose of unneeded evidence. The second was a monthly shift that involved driving to every district in the city on a Saturday to collect old prescription drugs for incineration.

“Between March 2015 and June 2016, Baxter personally collected approximately $9,223 for overtime hours he did not work,” Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell said in a statement.

To date, 14 officers from the department have been charged in connection with the fraud schemes at the evidence warehouse. An eighth former officer, Craig Smalls, is scheduled to plead guilty next week.

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