Boston Police captain who oversaw overtime fraud-ridden evidence warehouse gets prison time

The Boston Police Department captain overseeing the department’s evidence warehouse while the unit was abusing overtime is going to federal prison.

Richard Evans, 65, of Hanover, retired from BPD following 42 years with the department shortly after being charged in March 2021 in the overtime fraud scandal.

A jury last March convicted Evans of conspiracy to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud following a trial in federal court in Boston.

On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns sentenced Evans to a year and a day in federal prison. Evans is also ordered to pay $154,249.20 in restitution and a fine of $15,000.

Evans had a base pay of $162,719 in 2020 and total earnings of $241,868, according to public records.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said that he hopes the sentence dissuades anyone “who may be tempted to follow a similar path.”

“Members of law enforcement are expected to uphold the law, not violate it,” Levy said.

Prosecutors say that Evans was the commander of the BPD’s Evidence and Supply Management Division from 2012 to 2016, right as the Evidence Control Unit was tasked with a “purge” of outdated or unnecessary evidence stored in the warehouse to make room for fresh evidence. The work would require a lot of overtime shifts, which officers and their supervisors — including Evans — conspired to take advantage of.

Officers would routinely fill out overtime slips claiming a full four-hour shift when they would often work only a small portion of that time, if at all.

The last officer charged in the initial wave of indictments in the investigation was sentenced in August.

Officer James Carnes, of Canton, was sentenced then to time served and two years of probation as well as more than $20,000 in restitution. His sentence followed those of co-conspirators Michael Murphy and Gerard O’Brien, who were also sentenced to time served and restitution amounts of $16,014 and $25,930. Each of them took plea deals.

A fourth officer, Diana Lopez, was sentenced to 6 months in prison and two years of supervised release, as well as a $5,000 fine and $36,028 in restitution.

Lt. Timothy Torigian, Sgt. Robert Twitchell and officers Henry Doherty and Kendra Conway were acquitted following an 11-day trial. A ninth defendant, Officer Ronald Nelson, died on Jan. 15, 2022, ahead of trial and his charges were dismissed the next month.