Boston cop pleads to lying to feds, will resign
Thursday, June 25, 2015
By: Antonio Planas
A veteran Boston police officer has agreed to resign as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors that will keep him out of jail for lying to the FBI, federal authorities said.
David Michael Fitzgerald, 49, of Milton, who has been a Boston cop since 1996, admitted to making false statements to the FBI on April 27. The FBI was investigating a street-level drug dealer and bookmaker to whom authorities say Fitzgerald made cash loans that were paid back in weekly installments.
According to federal filings, on April 27 in Watertown, Fitzgerald met with the unidentified drug dealer, identified only as “the Associate,” and collected $500. Later that day, FBI agents caught up to Fitzgerald.
“Fitzgerald falsely stated to the FBI special agents were investigating that (1) the purposed of his earlier meeting that day with the Associate was simply social in nature and (2) he had never loaned money to the Associate,” court documents state. Fitzgerald has known the drug dealer and bookmaker since 2006, the filings state.
Fitzgerald’s lawyer Kenneth H. Anderson said, “He was a very well respected police officer. He’s a great guy who had a lapse of judgment and made a mistake.”
Anderson added, “He’s obviously deeply upset” about resigning. Fitzgerald, who worked in Roxbury, was also the treasurer of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association from 2012 to 2014.
The plea deal calls for Fitzgerald to be placed under one year of probation and participate in a mental health program. He had faced a potential sentence of up to five years if the case went to trial.
A court date for the formal plea has not been scheduled, Anderson said, adding Fitzgerald has not officially resigned but will “shortly.”