Former Boston Police Sergeant Convicted of Overtime Fraud in BPD Evidence Storage Facility

A former Boston police sergeant has been convicted for his involvement in a long-running overtime fraud scheme at the Boston Police evidence warehouse. (Herald file photo)

A former Boston police sergeant has been convicted for his involvement in a long-running overtime fraud scheme in the Boston Police Department’s evidence storage facility.

Former Boston police sergeant William Baxter was sentenced by a U.S. district court to three years’ probation and seven months’ house arrest.

The 63-year-old Hyde Park man was also fined $20,000 and ordered to pay $9,223 in restitution.

According to the government, he personally collected about $9,223 for overtime he did not work between March 2015 and June 2016.

Baxter pleaded guilty years ago to one count of conspiracy to commit theft in connection with programs that receive federal funds and one count of embezzlement from an agency that receives federal funds.

He was one of 15 officers charged with OT fraud in the Boston Police Department’s evidence warehouse – 10 of whom were convicted either by guilty plea or jury verdict. Of the remaining five officers charged, four were acquitted last April and one died while charges were pending.

According to federal authorities, Baxter submitted false and fraudulent overtime reports for overtime he did not work for two shifts at the evidence storage facility.

The first shift, called “cleanup overtime,” was a 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. weekday shift where old, unwanted evidence was disposed of. The second shift, called “kiosk overtime,” consisted of driving to every Boston police station one Saturday a month to collect old prescription drugs for incineration.

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Baxter claimed to have worked the “cleanup shift” from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., but he usually left at 6 p.m. and sometimes earlier. In addition, Baxter knowingly approved the fraudulent overtime slips of his subordinates, who allegedly also left that shift early.

For the “kiosk” shift, Baxter and allegedly others regularly submitted overtime sheets claiming to have worked 8.5 hours. In fact, he and allegedly other members of the unit only worked three to four hours on those shifts.