Former Boston police captain convicted of theft in overtime scheme

A former Boston Police Department captain was convicted Friday for falsely certifying overtime hours for himself and other officers, costing taxpayers what officials said was “hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent overtime payments.”

Richard Evans, 65, of Hanover, was convicted of conspiracy to commit theft from programs receiving federal funds, theft from programs receiving federal funds, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud, according to the office of Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Joshua Levy. Evans was a 37-year veteran of the department and “one of [its] highest ranking officers” at the time of his crimes, a statement from Levy’s office said. 

Between May 2012 and March 2016, Evans was the commander of Boston Police Department’s Evidence Control Unit (ECU). In this position, he was responsible for approving ECU officers’ overtime pay, which was 1.5 times higher than their regular pay, according to the statement. 

“Beginning virtually as soon as Evans took command of the ECU, Evans submitted and approved overtime slips that grossly inflated the amount of time worked,” Levy’s office said. Evans submitted “hundreds” of overtime slips for himself, prosecutors said.

Throughout this time, Evans also approved subordinate ECU officers’ false time sheets, making it seem like officers were working an entire four-hour overtime shift when they were really only working one or two hours. 

“Evidence presented at trial established that Evans misled his superior officers about the purge overtime scheme to cover up the fact that officers were inflating their overtime hours,” Levy’s office said. 

As a result of the fraud, Evans earned more than $120,000 in overtime payments in his three and a half years as commander on top of his base salary, which was more than $200,000, according to officials. 

Evans was arrested and charged in March 2021. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 20. 

“Every resident of Massachusetts has a right to expect that those of us in law-enforcement will uphold the law,” Levy said in a statement. “Mr. Evans’ greed is not a reflection of the Boston Police Department or the many men and women in law-enforcement who serve with integrity. However, when individuals put their greed before their public duty, they must be held accountable.”

Evans is facing up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for the charges of conspiracy to commit theft and committing theft from a program that receives federal funding. He is facing 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for the charges of conspiracy to commit and committing wire fraud.