Boston Officer Guilty Of Overtime Fraud Scheme Avoids Jail But Must Pay Back Thousands

The sixth Boston police officer convicted in a long-running overtime fraud scheme that swindled thousands of dollars from taxpayers must repay more than $16,000 but won't serve jail time, authorities announced.

Michael Murphy, 64, of Hyde Park, was sentenced to two years of probation and must pay a $5,000 fine and $16,014 in restitution after he pleaded guilty last month to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said.

Murphy and dozens of other officers were accused of filing false overtime slips from September 2016 until February 2019 for work they did not do, the prosecutor said.

He claimed to have worked the "purge" shift, where officers dispose of unneeded or outdated evidence at the department's evidence warehouse. He said he worked from 4 until 8 p.m. during these weekday shifts, but Murphy would usually leave before 6 p.m. or earlier, the prosecutor said.

He also claimed once a month to have served the "kiosk" shift, where officers collect expired prescription drugs from residents to be destroyed. Murphy said he worked more than eight hours, but regularly worked less than half of that.

The Boston Police Department receives over $10,000 in federal grants annually to help cover overtime costs.