By Robert Mills
Lowell Sun
DRACUT, Mass. — Two Dracut police officers on paid administrative leave since May 2010, when they were accused of being intentionally deceptive during an investigation into the theft of marijuana from a police-evidence trailer, have been cleared of those allegations under an agreement with the town.
Officers William Dubois and Leonard Wagner will both return to duty after serving a monthlong, unpaid suspension for failure to clarify some statements they made during the investigation.
The allegations were made in an internal-affairs report, finished in 2010, regarding the theft of 154 pounds of marijuana from a storage trailer behind the Dracut Police Station in 2003. No one was ever charged with the theft, the marijuana was never recovered, and the statute of limitations for a criminal prosecution in connection with the theft has expired.
Selectmen Joe DiRocco, John Zimini and Cathy Richardson each confirmed they were notified of the agreement via a letter from Town Manager Dennis Piendak that was hand delivered by police last night between 7 and 8 p.m.
Selectmen Robert Cox and George Malliaros had not received the letter when contacted yesterday evening, and could not be reached later in the night for comment.
Piendak plans to release a statement regarding to the “mutually agreed upon resolution” to the public today, the selectmen said. Piendak could not immediately be reached for comment last night.
The Sun obtained a copy of the statement Piendak plans to release today. It states in part:
“It is important to note that there was absolutely no credible evidence that Officer Wagner or Officer Dubois, either individually or jointly, directly or indirectly, were involved in any way in the theft of marijuana from the departmental storage trailer in April 2003, or that they aided or profited from that theft. Any implication or inference that Officer Wagner and Officer Dubois were or may have been involved with the theft, usage, or distribution of marijuana has no basis in fact and is not true. Additionally, there was no credible evidence presented that either officer had intent to deceive any investigator in connection with this case.”
Nevertheless, the public statement says both men will serve a monthlong, unpaid suspension for “violating departmental rules and regulations with respect to the failure to timely clarify statements previously given in connection with the departmental investigation.”
It was not immediately clear when the agreement was reached, or when the suspensions will begin.
There are few details in the statement, aside from a paragraph that says Wagner was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy prior to becoming a Dracut patrolman. Wagner had been accused of being deceptive about his discharge record.
Wagner was also accused of being deceptive about a marijuana-leaf tattoo on his left hand.
Both he and Dubois were accused of being deceptive when they told investigators probing the theft that they did not know marijuana was stored in the evidence trailer.
The agreement comes after months of delays in hearings into the allegations and at least $45,000 in legal and consulting fees for the town.
Jerry Flynn, executive director of the New England Police Benevolent Association, the union which represents Dracut patrolmen, praised Piendak for “having the gumption and gall” to reach the settlement. Flynn has previously called the allegations a “witch hunt.”
Flynn also slammed former Tewksbury Police Chief Al Donovan, who made the allegations in an 85-page report on the theft that he compiled while leading the internal-affairs unit of the Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council.
Donovan could not immediately be reached for comment last night.
“Where do these two officers go to get back their good names back,” Flynn said. “I said from the beginning the facts would show these officers are innocent.”
Dubois and Wagner could not immediately be reached for comment, and Flynn said he could not immediately provide their contact information, which is unlisted since the men are police.
Dracut Police Chief Kevin Richardson said he could not comment last night.
Zimini and Cathy Richardson also declined to comment on the agreement because it involves a personnel matter and because they want to wait until they have more information.
“We want to make sure we have all the facts,” Richardson said.
DiRocco declined to comment at length, but said that ever since he read Donovan’s internal-affairs report he questioned the allegations.
“I read the 85 pages and I’m still a little confused about why we did this whole thing,” DiRocco said. “I have a lot of questions that I think need to be brought out publicly, and that’s what I intend on doing.”
DiRocco said he plans to put the issue on the agenda of selectmen’s next meeting, on July 12.
Among the questions he said he intends to ask are how much taxpayer money went into this.
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