By Howie Carr and Joe Dwinell
Boston Herald
NORFOLK, Mass. — Embattled Sgt. Yuriy Bukhenik has been kicked out of the Norfolk DA’s office as fallout from the Karen Read case spreads.
Bukhenik is now on a “temporary duty assignment” at the Division of Standards and Training in the Framingham headquarters, the State Police said Monday when they corrected an earlier statement about him going to Southie.
The State Police added that “as a Sergeant assigned to the DST Commander’s Office, Sergeant Bukhenik will perform a variety of administrative functions in support of the Division’s daily operations.” His old job is now open.
Bukhenik earned $211,961 in 2024 and has already pulled down $110,851 this year, according to Comptroller records.
Bukhenik was forced to forfeit five days of leave for failing to “properly supervise” rogue ex-Trooper Michael Proctor, who texted his boss vile observations about Karen Read that became a central theme in the murder case. After two trials, Read was found guilty of just one charge — drunken driving.
Bukhenik’s inauspicious exit from the Norfolk DA’s office as of Sunday makes him the third trooper linked to the Read case to be banished.
Proctor was fired in March when State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble accepted the MSP Trial Board’s recommendation to terminate Proctor for failing to uphold agency standards.
Proctor’s misogynistic texts about Read and the case were ruled “derogatory, defamatory, disparaging, and/or otherwise inappropriate” by the Trial Board.
Months earlier in October, Det. Lt. Brian Tully was removed as head of the detective bureau posted at the Norfolk DA’s office, as the Herald reported.
According to an MSP statement, Tully was moved to a temporary assignment in the MSP Division of Investigative Services, but will continue to “be available to assist … with any cases in which he was previously involved.”
Tully was in charge of the Norfolk DA’s detective bureau during the investigation into the death of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe on Jan. 29, 2022, in Canton. Read was O’Keefe’s girlfriend at the time and was the only one blamed for his murder.
The jury foreman in last month’s retrial told the Herald the panel was unanimous in their decision to only convict Read of drunken driving, saying the police work in the case was filled with “red flags” from the start.
The MSP investigation was the main target of Read’s defense, which claims that Read was framed by a massive police and prosecution cover-up.
The sordid mess now leaves the State Police with a lot to clean up — including other cases the investigators were involved with, including the pending murder trial of accused wife-killer Brian Walshe of Cohasset.
“As the Colonel said following the conclusion of the second trial, the events of the last three years have challenged our Department to thoroughly review our actions and take concrete steps to deliver advanced investigative training, ensure appropriate oversight, and enhance accountability,” State Police spokesman Tim McGuirk told the Herald Monday in an email.
“Under his direction as Colonel, the State Police has, and will continue to, improve in these regards,” McGuirk added. “Our focus remains on delivering excellent police services that reflect the value of professionalism and maintaining public trust.”
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