Ex-Trooper Robertson Gets 3 Years for Overtime Heist

BOSTON – Another dirty cop off the streets. William W. Robertson, 62, of Westborough, Massachusetts, was sentenced yesterday to three years in federal prison after being convicted in December 2023 of a brazen scheme to steal federally funded overtime pay. The former Massachusetts State Police (MSP) Sergeant also received three years of supervised release and a hefty financial penalty.

U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman handed down the sentence, ordering Robertson to pay restitution totaling $142,774 and forfeit $32,180. The charges against Robertson included one count of conspiracy, one count of theft concerning a federal program, and four counts of wire fraud. This isn’t an isolated incident; the rot runs deep within the MSP’s Traffic Programs Section.

Robertson wasn’t working alone. Just last week, on April 26, 2024, co-conspirator and former MSP Lieutenant Daniel Griffin received a harsher sentence – five years in prison, plus three years of supervised release. Griffin also faces a significant financial burden: $329,163 in restitution, a $176,700 fine, and a $2,100 special assessment. He was convicted of the same charges as Robertson. The pair, along with other unnamed troopers, systematically abused a system designed to improve traffic safety.

Between 2015 and 2018, Griffin, Robertson, and their crew allegedly clocked in for overtime shifts funded by federal grants, then routinely showed up late and left early. They pocketed the money while providing minimal – if any – actual work. When the MSP began sniffing around in 2017 and 2018, the conspirators didn’t just stop; they actively tried to cover their tracks. Records and forms were shredded and burned in a desperate attempt to conceal the fraud.

The cover-up didn’t end there. After an internal inquiry revealed missing paperwork, Griffin allegedly crafted a misleading memo to his superiors, claiming the forms were simply “inadvertently discarded or misplaced” during office moves. A pathetic attempt to gaslight the investigators. This wasn’t a simple mistake; it was a calculated effort to obstruct justice and protect a criminal enterprise operating within the state police.

The investigation was a joint effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dustin Chao and Adam Deitch, both of the Public Corruption Unit, prosecuted the case. This sentencing sends a message, but it remains to be seen if it’s enough to clean up the mess within the Massachusetts State Police and restore public trust. More heads are likely to roll.