Waste of the Day: Mass. Cops Visit Casinos
Topline: Sheriff departments across Massachusetts seemingly have no problem gambling away their reputation with local taxpayers. Law enforcement agencies have spent at least $21,000 at casinos around the country since January 2023, according to the Boston Herald.
Key facts: Most of the money was spent on hotel stays for various conferences, including a $2,540 bill the Barnstable Sheriff’s Department racked up at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. Five employees stayed at the casino for the Daigle Law Group’s Use of Force Summit in December 2024, and most of the bill was from just a single $1,811 purchase.
The department also spent $6,914 for four employees at the Horseshoe Las Vegas for the National Conference on Correctional Healthcare, the Boston Herald found. They were not the only ones. Three employees from the Middlesex Sheriff’s Department and three from the Hampden Sheriff’s Department also attended the conference, and both departments spent more than $2,600 for hotel rooms at Caesar’s Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. A Middlesex spokesperson said their payment came from a federal grant.
Barnstable Sheriff Donna Buckley made $196,181 in salary in 2024, and the department’s top-paid employee made over $240,000, according to OpenTheBooks’ database. Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian made $188,153 in 2024, and the top-paid employee made $206,542. Hampden Sheriff Nicholas Cocchi made $187,825, and one of his coworkers earned $203,777.
The Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office spent $498 at the Mohegan Sun to attend the Spotlight on Fraud XI Conference this May, the Herald found. DA employees earn up to $197,379.
Massachusetts state agencies got in on the action when the Municipal Police Training Committee, which sets training standards for local cops, spent $674 at the Mohegan Sun to attend the Use of Force Summit.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission spent $176 at The Venetian Las Vegas when Commissioner Nakisha Skinner attended a summit, and the state Department of Fire Services spent $215 on Fire Marshal Jon Davine’s stay at the Beau Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mo. Skinner makes $143,823, and Davine makes $174,461.
Search all federal, state and local salaries and vendor spending with the world’s largest government spending database at OpenTheBooks.com.
Background: The news follows a previous Boston Herald report that found Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and her staff spent $288,146 on travel in 2024, partially to pay for trips to Paris and St. Thomas.
Summary: At least taxpayers would have a chance to strike it rich if they gambled with their own money at casinos. There is no chance they will recover the funds when they’ve been spent by local bureaucrats at luxury hotels.
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com
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