MA State Trooper Sentenced To 1 Day In Prison In Overtime Scandal

BOSTON — A suspended Massachusetts State Police trooper was the first of eight to be sentenced in federal court in Boston in connection with the ongoing investigation of overtime abuse, according to the Department of Justice. Eric Chin, 46, of Hanover, was sentenced to one day in prison, deemed served, and one year of supervised release with three months to be served in home detention. Chin was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $7,125.

The seven other troopers have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. In December 2018, he pleaded guilty to one count of embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds.

Chin was a trooper assigned to Troop E, which was responsible for enforcing criminal and traffic regulations along the Massachusetts Turnpike. In 2016, Chin earned $302,400, which included approximately $131,653 in overtime pay.

Chin was paid for overtime hours that he did not work and for at least one four-hour shift that he did not work at all. Chin 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 paperwork and payroll entries that he had worked the entirety of his overtime shifts.

Chin admitted collecting $7,125 for overtime hours that he did not work, according to the Department of Justice.

The overtime in question involved the Accident and Injury Reduction Effort program, which was intended to reduce accidents, crashes and injuries on I-90 through an enhanced presence of troopers who were to target vehicles traveling at excessive speeds.

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