Lieutenant Promoted To Captain In Salem Police Department

SALEM, NH — The Salem Police Department got a new captain on Monday when Lieutenant Jason Smith was promoted to the position from his former rank as lieutenant.

According to a social media post by Salem police, Smith worked for police in New Market, at the University of New Hampshire and in Salem before becoming captain.

"He has a wealth of knowledge that he is always willing to share with all of us and we are grateful for his knowledge, experience, and dedication," the post read.

Smith fills the role vacated after the arrest of former Salem police captain Michael Wagner.

Wagner, 48, was on administrative leave in early July due to an internal investigation on another matter when was then arrested on July 2 on a single charge of filing a false tax return.

The charge was based out of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston, Massachusetts.

The charge was based on an investigation of his 2013 tax returns involving unpaid taxes on $33,000 of profit made by Wagner when he resold rifles he bought with a police discount from the Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, according to an indictment.

His attorney, David Vicinanzo, a leader of Nixon Peabody LLP's Government Investigations & White Collar Defense practice group, called Wagner's arrest "particularly inappropriate" given his "dire health condition of end-stage kidney failure and imminent need for a transplant" and the new coronavirus pandemic.

Related: Lawyer For Salem Police Captain: Arrest Was 'Inappropriate'

"The single charge involves a disputed tax amount of a few thousand dollars from seven years ago that could have been resolved as an ordinary administrative matter," Vicinanzo said in a statement. "The government should not have escalated this minor tax dispute into an unprovable criminal charge at any time, let alone in the middle of a global pandemic."

Wagner faces up to three years in prison, a year of supervised release, and up to a $100,000 fine if convicted of the charge.

Patch editor Tony Schinella contributed to this report.

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