Local news
The city of Boston must pay $279,899 in legal fees after two police officers were acquitted in an overtime scam last year.
Timothy Torigian, a retired Boston police lieutenant, leaves court after jury selection for his trial on charges he was involved in an overtime scam outside the John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse. Photo by Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
The city of Boston is fighting in court to avoid paying nearly $300,000 in legal fees for police officers recently acquitted of overtime fraud, court documents show.
Former Boston police officers Timothy Torigian, Robert Twitchell and two others were acquitted of embezzlement charges in April. Torigian and Twitchell, who were senior officers, were accused of filing overtime pay slips for hours not worked. Their lawyers argued they followed standard practices.
Nine Boston police officers have pleaded guilty to overtime fraud, one was convicted and the third died before being tried.
In June, an arbitrator determined that the city of Boston would be required to pay Torigian and Twitchell’s legal fees, in accordance with the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation’s collective bargaining agreement.
Under the agreement, if an employee charged with a criminal offense “in the course of employment” is found not guilty, the city of Boston is required to reimburse legal fees.
That includes $115,119 on behalf of Torigian, $64,780 for Twitchell and an additional $100,000 for Torigian’s fees, according to documents obtained through a public records request.
When the city dismissed their grievance filed in June 2023, an arbitrator heard their case in March, according to the arbitrator’s decision. The arbitrator ruled in favor of the union and ordered Boston to pay the costs.
“The City’s obligation to reimburse them in the event of an acquittal concerns only whether the charges were brought in the course of their employment,” the arbitrator wrote. “The City, in deciding not to reimburse the plaintiffs for their criminal defense, is improperly substituting its judgment for that of the jury.”
Arbitrator rules in favor of union, city goes to court
The city of Boston then sued the union in Suffolk Superior Court in July, asking the court to vacate the arbitration award. The city says the claim for reimbursement was filed too late, in part because Torigian and Twitchell both voluntarily left the department in 2020.
“Complainants were not employees or bargaining unit members following their voluntary separation from employment with the Department and the thirty calendar day period to file grievances on their behalf expired thirty calendar days from the date they separated from employment with the Department,” the city’s complaint states.
The union argues that the 30-day period began the day they were acquitted, according to the arbitrator’s decision obtained through a public records request. The union responded to the city’s lawsuit and asked the judge to uphold the $279,899 award, according to court documents.
The Boston Police Superior Officers Federation did not respond to a request for comment.
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