HollyMatkinBoston, MA –The Massachusetts State Ethics Commission has launched an investigation into the State Police’s senior command staff, in the wake of an alleged attempted cover-up of a judge’s daughter who offered sexual favors in exchange for leniency.
According to the Boston Globe, the head of the State Police union confirmed on Wednesday that ethics investigators met with Troopers Ryan Sceviour and Ali Rei last week.
The union speaker said the purpose of the interview was to ascertain which senior officials were involved in ordering alterations to the Oct. 16 arrest reports of Alli Bibaud.
Union president Dana Pullman told the Boston Globe that ethics investigators are expected to interview the sergeant who approved Trooper Sceviour’s initial report, as well as the union representative who was with Sceviour when he was ordered to make redactions to the report.
Bibaud, 30, is the daughter of Dudley District Court Judge Timothy Bibaud.
State Police Superintendent Colonel Richard McKeon admitted he ordered troopers to delete Bibaud’s offers of sex in exchange for leniency before he abruptly retired on Nov. 17.
His deputy, Lieutenant Colonel Francis Hughes, retired on Nov. 14.
The initial arrest which prompted the scandal occurred on Oct. 16 at around 7:40 p.m., after Trooper Sceviour arrived at a collision scene.
The trooper determined that he had probable cause to arrest Alli Bibaud for driving under the influence of drugs, and being in possession of heroin.
When she was arrested, Bibaud said, “Do you know how many people I had to blow to get that?” according to Turtleboy Sports, who broke the story.
She also told Trooper Sceviour that she’d perform sex acts on him as well in exchange for leniency, according to the Boston Globe .
Drug Recognition Expert Trooper Ali Rei conducted an evaluation, according to Turtleboy, and submitted a report with the quote about how Bibaud acquired her drugs.
A day after Trooper Scevior’s report was filed, a trooper came to his house to summon him back to the barracks while Lieutenant James Fogarty left two voicemails on his phone telling him to immediately respond to the barracks on orders of Col. McKeon.
When he arrived with Sergeant Jason Conant, who initially approved the report, Lieutenant Fogarty told them that he had been ordered to write a negative supervisory observation report on them. But Lt. Fogarty told them that he didn’t think that they had done anything wrong.
They didn’t change their reports, so the command staff did it for them.
“The revision consisted of removal of what the Colonel and senior commanders felt was a sensationalistic and inflammatory directly-quoted statement that made no contribution to proving the elements of the crimes with which she was charged,” State Police spokesman David Procopio explained in a statement, according to the Boston Globe.
Gov. Charlie Baker has publicly defended the troopers, and said that the order to redact the report came from former Col. McKeon, MassLive.com reported.
However, it’s unreasonable to believe that Col. McKeon discovered the report on his own and initiated the order to make changes – reading trooper’s DUI reports was not part of his job.
Criminal charges could result for anyone determined to be involved in the alleged cover-up, including conflict of interest and obstruction of justice offenses, among others.
The Ethics Commission probe is one of three active investigations into the incident.
State Attorney General Maura Healy and the new State Police Superintendent, Kerry Gilpin, are also investigating the scandal.
Troopers Sceviour and Rei both filed federal lawsuits against Col. McKeon.
Bibaud pleaded guilty to drunken driving and negligent operation of a motor vehicle in Framingham District Court on Nov. 17, the Boston Globe reported.
She was sentenced to 14 months of probation, her license was suspended for a year, and she was ordered to complete a residential drug treatment program, among other conditions.
According to the Boston Globe, a drugged driving charge remains pending.