Two more retired state troopers indicted for overtime abuse; one allegedly filed for pay while running his own private security firm

The US Attorney's office reports the arrest of another two state troopers on federal fraud charges.

Lt. Daniel Griffin of Belmont was charged with an escalating series of crimes related to the ongoing overtime scandal at State Police: He often put in for State Police pay while working at his private-security firm and hid his income to obtain financial aid for his kids at a private school, then, when investigators started nosing around State Police headquarters in Framingham, he helped shred and burn potentially incriminating documents and told his superiors, oops, the documents got lost during an office move, the US Attorney's office charges - adding he also submitted bogus tax returns to the IRS.

Griffin was indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of theft concerning a federal program, eight counts of wire fraud and 11 counts of assisting in filing false tax returns, the US Attorney's office reports.

Sgt. William Robertson of Westboro was charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of theft concerning a federal program and four counts of wire fraud.

Both of the now retired troopers worked out of State Police headquarters in a traffic-enforcement program.

Both were arrested this morning and face arraignment in US District Court in Boston this afternoon on the charges, which include submitting their own fake overtime requests and working with at least three other troopers who the feds say also put in for hours they didn't work.

According to the indictment, Griffin supplemented his State Police salary of $224,000 or so a year by running KnightPro, a firm that provided secure shipment of artworks across the country and security for events at colleges across Massachusetts. Running such a complex concern was a full-time job, as is working as a State Trooper; Griffin solved the dilemma by doing KnightPro work while he was getting paid for State Police work - both regular pay and overtime - the indictment charges.

This was in addition to the work Griffin did as a landlord and as owner or part-owner of several Boston-area gyms, the indictment claims.

But his income from all these sources wasn't enough, the feds charge. Between 2013 and 2019, he had two children enrolled in a private school in Belmont that charged $39,600 in tuition in 2013, which increased to $50,800 in 2019. By submitting fake tax returns that omitted his KnightPro and other non-State Police income, and by concealing the fact he owned a second home on the Cape, Griffin became eligible for financial aid, which over the six years totaled $177,000.

In 2017, the indictment alleges, Griffin really got into the role of a poor state trooper, dashing off a series of complaints to the school when one of his kids only got about $29,000 knocked off the tuition:

Griffin sent a series of emails to the Private School financial aid office complaining he was being penalized for being honest about his financial means; that other families were abusing the system by "hid[ing] monies ... and mak[ing] significant cash 'under the table' "; and that he would have to withdraw his child from the Private School unless further financial aid was given.

The indictment continues that the school kicked in another $4,000 in aid that year.

Innocent, etc.

Complete indictment (3.6M PDF).