Massachusetts

Boston Cop Indicted for Stealing Cash From Evidence Room, Trying to Launder It at Casino

A police officer has been indicted for allegedly stealing $2,000 in cash from the Boston Police Department's evidence room and attempting to launder it at Plainridge Park Casino.

Joseph Nee, 44, is charged with larceny over $250 and money laundering, according to the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court on Oct. 30.

Nee has been an officer with the Boston Police Department since 1998 and is assigned to the Evidence Management Unit in Hyde Park. He has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the case.

Nee allegedly stole approximately $2,000 from the file of a closed bank robbery case in January of 2017, the attorney general's office said. The stolen money was identified by the traces of red dye left from an anti-theft dye pack that discharged during the bank robbery.

Authorities said they learned of the theft when Nee fed some of the stolen cash into slot machines at Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville. He allegedly redeemed the stolen money at a kiosk at the casino for cash that wasn't tainted with red dye.

"The behavior alleged in today’s indictment is inexcusable," Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said. "I hold my officers to the highest standards and expect them to obey the law that they have taken an oath to uphold. Allegations like this can damage the trust my officers have worked so hard to build with the community."

The charges are the result of a joint investigation by the Massachusetts State Police Gaming Enforcement Unit, the Boston Police Anti-Corruption Unit and the Attorney General's Gaming Enforcement Division.

The department says it asked the attorney general to open an investigation as soon as it became aware of Nee's alleged misconduct.

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