Ex-Police Captain Arrested In OT Fraud Probe: Patch PM

PEABODY, MA — It's Tuesday, March 30. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• A police captain accused of bilking taxpayers out of more than $12,000 by skipping out early.
• The Department of Transportation is ramping up its road work on the North Shore — which could mean travel delays both day and night.
• Peabody City Hall is reopening to the public next week more than a year after it closed at the onset of the coronavirus crisis.

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering on the North Shore and in Massachusetts today.

Today's Top Story

A retired Boston police captain was arrested Tuesday as part of a federal investigation into an overtime fraud scheme at the department's warehouse.

Richard Evans, 62, of Hanover, is accused as being part of a group of officers who skipped out hours early on overtime shifts for the Evidence Control Unit he oversaw. Officers can make 1.5 times their pay in overtime working the unit.

The Massachusetts U.S. Attorney's office said that between March 2015 and February 2019, Evans was paid $12,395 in overtime hours he didn't work, while he endorsed dozens of fraudulent overtime slips for other officers.

"It is deeply troubling when officers who have sworn to uphold the law violate their oath and use their badge as a license to commit a crime," said FBI Boston's Special Agent in Charge Joseph R. Bonavolonta.

Read the full story here

Other top stories

This ain't over yet: Not by a long shot. Gov. Charlie Baker urged people not to confuse progress with victory, asking virus-weary residents to keep guard against a "false sense of security." Baker was speaking Tuesday alongside CDC Director and Peabody native Rochelle Walensky, who only one day before warned of "impending doom" due to rising coronavirus cases across the country. One of those places seeing an increase in cases is Massachusetts, but said Tuesday she wouldn't comment on the restrictions in individual states. She did say she was pleased to see so many in Massachusetts wearing a mask. Walensky also clarified Monday's comments to say the "impending doom" is preventable.

Slow down for work crews: The state Department of Transportation on Tuesday announced two road projects beginning on the North Shore next week with one a nighttime project on Route 1 and the other that will take up lanes during the day on Route 95 from Peabody to the New Hampshire line.

Peabody City Hall back open for business: Peabody residents will be able to walk through the doors of City Hall to conduct general business starting April 7 — with strict coronavirus protocols in place and modified hours.

Good for workers? That might be a stretch: Boston Dynamics, the Waltham-based company known for its robot dog Spot, released a video of Stretch, its latest robot prototype. This robot is designed to automate repetitive box-moving in warehouses and distribution centers. Stretch can unload trucks and build pallets of boxes, according to the company. The company said Stretch makes "makes warehouse operations more efficient and safer for workers." We wonder what the workers feel about the new guy.

We hope he used Geico: A traveler from Florida brought home an unlikely souvenir —a lizard that hid in the car during the whole trip up to Massachusetts. Once the driver spotted the lizard, they brought it to the Animal Rescue League of Boston's Brewster location. The ARL said the lizard was a Brown Anole lizard and not native to Massachusetts. The little lizard's travels weren't quite over yet.

They're right there!: Ever see an endangered right whale? If you were motoring around off the Cape earlier this month you probably did. There were 89 sightings of the creature on March 21, the most spotted in a single day this season. Federal officials have urged boaters to slow down to avoid injuring the endangered fellas.