Ex-Police Union Head Charged In Federal OT Probe: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Monday, Oct. 4. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• The sweeping probe into the Boston Police Department's rampant overtime fraud has reached the former head of the patrolmen's union.
• Monday night's Powerball jackpot now sits at $685 million — the eighth-largest prize is U.S. lottery history
• An Arlington resident is among 18 castaways on the latest season of the long-running reality series "Survivor."

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today's Top Story: Police Fraud

An ongoing investigation of overtime fraud at the Boston Police Department's evidence warehouse has the former president of Boston Police Patrolmen's Association and Boston set to plead guilty Monday.

Thomas Nee, 64, of Quincy, and the former president of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, is set to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and one count of embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds, according to the Department of Justice District of Massachusetts.

According to federal documents, from at least January 2015 through February 2019, the former president and former Boston police officer submitted false and fraudulent overtime slips for overtime hours he did not work at the evidence warehouse.

Nee is one of 15 Boston police officers to be charged in connection with committing overtime fraud at the department's evidence warehouse, and the ninth officer to have pleaded guilty.

Read the full story

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Monday's Other Top Stories

Well, do ya feel lucky? The Powerball jackpot has swelled to the eighth-largest prize is U.S. lottery history, and residents in Massachusetts and beyond will test their luck again Monday night. The jackpot is for an estimated $685 million; the cash option is an estimated $485.5 million. It would be the sixth-highest Powerball prize in the game's history. Monday night's prize would also be the richest since a $731.1 million jackpot was won on a Maryland ticket. It will be the 41st Powerball drawing since June 5's jackpot hit for $285.6 million in Florida.

I will survive: An Arlington resident is among 18 castaways on the latest season of the long-running reality series "Survivor." Evvie Jagoda is a 28-year-old PhD student competing for the $1 million prize on the 41st season, which was shot in Fiji and delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Facebook, Instagram down: Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, three apps owned by Facebook, are down in a major outage Monday that is affecting customers around the world, according to reports. Here are five things to know about the outages.

Read all about it: The fate of a $21 million library renovation will be decided Monday night. The City Council will vote whether to approve borrowing more than $10 million, which would green light a complete overhaul of the Melrose Public Library. The city would pay for less the total cost, but needs to commit by January to coming up with the money to unlock the state's $8.2 million grant. With the library's Board of Trustees kicking in $2 million, the city is seeking councilors to approve a $10.8 million bond.

The 2021 Boston Marathon is Oct. 11. Read the latest on Patch's 2021 Boston Marathon hub.

Picture This: Salem's American Dream

Emily Kwong’s mural is one of 18 that now show off different visions of the American Dream that fill the Peabody Street wall in Salem as part of the Punto Urban Art Museum’s mission to “foster dialogue around the cornerstone principles of the United States.”.

They Said It

"It was pretty amazing. It was a beautiful night and I got to have family, colleagues, and friends come and watch. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity."

• Brookline High teacher Joslyn Vendola, who was selected to throw out the first pitch at Fenway Park last month.