Hopkinton man agrees to plead guilty in federal investigation of State Police overtime scandal

All eight Massachusetts State Police troopers charged as part of a federal investigation into overtime abuse have pleaded or agreed to plead guilty after suspended trooper Heath McAuliffe agreed to a plea agreement Wednesday on one count of embezzlement from an agency that received federal funding.

BOSTON — Suspended Massachusetts State Police Trooper Heath McAuliffe agreed to plead guilty in connection with the ongoing investigation of overtime abuse at the Massachusetts State Police.

McAuliffe agreed to plead guilty to collecting $7,860 for overtime hours between August 2015 and August 2016, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling on Wednesday. The government is recommending a sentence of between six to 12 months.

The 40-year-old Hopkinton resident was the eighth trooper arrested in the ongoing series of cases involving State Police troopers assigned to Troop E, which was responsible for enforcing criminal and traffic regulations along the Mass. Pike/I-90. He was arrested on Dec. 12 and has agreed to plead guilty to one count of embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds.

Upon arrest he was charged with embezzling at least $9,825 in overtime pay between August 2015 and August 2016 for hours he did not work when he claimed to be on the job enforcing criminal and traffic regulations along the Massachusetts Turnpike.

The court has not set a date for the plea hearing, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

In 2016, McAuliffe earned approximately $164,680, which included approximately $60,908 in overtime pay, according to the statement.

In 2015, McAuliffe earned approximately $180,215, which included approximately $83,496 in overtime pay, according to the statement.

The sum McAuliffe agreed to plead guilty to embezzling represents about 5.4 percent of the $144,404 in overtime pay he received for 2015 and 2016.

"McAuliffe was paid for overtime shifts that he did not work at all, for which he arrived late, and from which he left early," according to Lelling's statement. "McAuliffe concealed his fraud by submitting fraudulent citations designed to create the appearance that he had worked overtime hours that he had not, and, falsely claimed in MSP paperwork and payroll entries that he had worked the entirety of his overtime shifts.

"The overtime in question involved the Accident and Injury Reduction Effort program (AIRE), which was intended to reduce accidents, crashes, and injuries on I-90 through an enhanced presence of MSP Troopers who were to target vehicles traveling at excessive speeds," according to Lelling's statement.

In 2016 and 2015, state police received more than $10,000 a year from the U.S. Department of Transportation through numerous federal grants.

A person found guilty of theft of government funds can be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain/loss, according to the Department of Justice.

A federal district court judge will determine McAuliffe's sentence.

The investigation is ongoing.

The State House News Service contributed to this report.