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http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/046/metro/Security_at_Logan_a_windfall_for_police+.shtml
Security at Logan a windfall for police
Antiterror effort boost overtime
By Brian C. Mooney, Globe Staff, 2/15/2003
Antiterrorism security measures imposed since 9/11 have been a financial bonanza for the beefed-up State Police contingent at Logan International Airport.
Five officers earned at least $200,000 last year and a dozen were paid more than $100,000 each in overtime alone, payroll records of the Massachusetts Port Authority show.
Overall, the cost of State Police at Logan and other Massport facilities has nearly doubled since Sept. 11, 2001, when suicide terrorists hijacked two jets from the East Boston airport.
The security buildup has resulted in a payroll explosion for the airport-based Troop F. Indeed, the troop's commander, Major Thomas G. Robbins, who doesn't receive overtime, was among the lowest paid last year at $100,574. That was well behind Lieutenant Donald McSweeney, the highest paid at $251,007, who earned $160,132 in overtime alone.
Jose Juves, Massport's spokesman, said the heavy costs result from a combination of factors, including post-9/11 mandates from the new US Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration, plus Massport-initiated procedures that go beyond federal requirements. These new measures require a law enforcement officer at each airport checkpoint and other screening procedures. ''It's very labor-intensive,'' said Juves.
''Meeting the needs to secure our facilities and the traveling public requires a lot of overtime expenditures,'' he said. ''That's the reality, a reality caused by the threat of terrorism. Today's reality is not one of our own making.''
The overtime pay persists, despite the addition since the 9/11 attacks of about 60 State Police officers to what had been an 80-person Massport troop, Juves said. Meanwhile, the 2,300-member State Police force, like every other government agency, faces budget pressures caused by the state's financial crisis.
''We have to operate within the fiscal constraints imposed upon us,'' said State Police spokeswoman Lieutenant Marian McGovern, pointing out that a new class of State Police recruits, scheduled to start next month, has been canceled. That class could have provided some staffing relief, she said.
Massport's $14.1 million share of the security costs, supplemented by several million dollars from the state, brings the total price of airport police in 2002 to almost double the $9.8 million spent the year before.
Nearly $3 million of Massport's security spending was reimbursed by federal agencies or businesses that pay off-duty troopers to provide security details, according to Karen L. Nober, Massport's deputy chief legal counsel. The balance was paid by the authority from its revenues - about $325 million in aircraft landing fees, terminal rents, and other sources.
State Police overtime away from the airport has become the subject of at least one internal investigation in recent months. In response to inquiries from the Globe, McGovern confirmed an ''active investigation'' of overtime involving a veteran State Police sergeant from Worcester. In that case, investigators have identified about a dozen instances over three years in which the sergeant claimed overtime hours for court cases or investigations. In interviews, however, prosecutors or others working on those cases flatly contradicted his account. The investigation is not yet complete and no disciplinary steps have been taken, McGovern said.
No such irregularities have been flagged in Massport overtime. In fact, McGovern said, time sheets have been double-checked internally, verifying, in McSweeney's case, that he complied with departmental policy that limits State Police personnel to working a total of 99.5 hours (out of a possible 168) in any one week. Massport figures show that in the first 11 months of 2002, McSweeney was paid his base salary of $85,516, plus $160,132 in overtime, and $5,360 for airport details.
Last Dec. 1, McSweeney was transferred to the Danvers barracks, McGovern said.
McSweeney was one of five Massport-based State Police paid more than $200,000 last year. The others were Sergeant William Leary ($214,627, $118,816 in OT), Lieutenant Thomas P. Glynn ($210,921, $112,011 in OT), Sergeant David A. O'Leary ($206,379, $89,101 in OT), and Sergeant John J. Staples ($202,158, $117,635 in OT). Nine others made more than $190,000, including the highest-paid trooper, Kevin Hogaboom, who ranked 12th in gross compensation at $193,962, but second to McSweeney in overtime with $125,780.
Among Massport State Police, for whom complete 2002 salary information was available yesterday, base salaries averaged $96,959 for lieutenants, $81,118 for sergeants, and $68,112 for troopers. By rank, overtime averaged $109,058 for lieutenants, $77,743 for sergeants, and $62,113 for troopers. Troop Captain Martha A. Catalano received base pay of $105,998 plus overtime of $26,300.
For the 60 additional officers assigned to Massport since 9/11, only partial pay information was immediately available. Most of the officers have worked at the authority for more than a year, but their salaries were paid out of the state budget until last fall when they were permanently shifted to the Massport budget.
Security at Logan a windfall for police
Antiterror effort boost overtime
By Brian C. Mooney, Globe Staff, 2/15/2003
Antiterrorism security measures imposed since 9/11 have been a financial bonanza for the beefed-up State Police contingent at Logan International Airport.
Five officers earned at least $200,000 last year and a dozen were paid more than $100,000 each in overtime alone, payroll records of the Massachusetts Port Authority show.
Overall, the cost of State Police at Logan and other Massport facilities has nearly doubled since Sept. 11, 2001, when suicide terrorists hijacked two jets from the East Boston airport.
The security buildup has resulted in a payroll explosion for the airport-based Troop F. Indeed, the troop's commander, Major Thomas G. Robbins, who doesn't receive overtime, was among the lowest paid last year at $100,574. That was well behind Lieutenant Donald McSweeney, the highest paid at $251,007, who earned $160,132 in overtime alone.
Jose Juves, Massport's spokesman, said the heavy costs result from a combination of factors, including post-9/11 mandates from the new US Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration, plus Massport-initiated procedures that go beyond federal requirements. These new measures require a law enforcement officer at each airport checkpoint and other screening procedures. ''It's very labor-intensive,'' said Juves.
''Meeting the needs to secure our facilities and the traveling public requires a lot of overtime expenditures,'' he said. ''That's the reality, a reality caused by the threat of terrorism. Today's reality is not one of our own making.''
The overtime pay persists, despite the addition since the 9/11 attacks of about 60 State Police officers to what had been an 80-person Massport troop, Juves said. Meanwhile, the 2,300-member State Police force, like every other government agency, faces budget pressures caused by the state's financial crisis.
''We have to operate within the fiscal constraints imposed upon us,'' said State Police spokeswoman Lieutenant Marian McGovern, pointing out that a new class of State Police recruits, scheduled to start next month, has been canceled. That class could have provided some staffing relief, she said.
Massport's $14.1 million share of the security costs, supplemented by several million dollars from the state, brings the total price of airport police in 2002 to almost double the $9.8 million spent the year before.
Nearly $3 million of Massport's security spending was reimbursed by federal agencies or businesses that pay off-duty troopers to provide security details, according to Karen L. Nober, Massport's deputy chief legal counsel. The balance was paid by the authority from its revenues - about $325 million in aircraft landing fees, terminal rents, and other sources.
State Police overtime away from the airport has become the subject of at least one internal investigation in recent months. In response to inquiries from the Globe, McGovern confirmed an ''active investigation'' of overtime involving a veteran State Police sergeant from Worcester. In that case, investigators have identified about a dozen instances over three years in which the sergeant claimed overtime hours for court cases or investigations. In interviews, however, prosecutors or others working on those cases flatly contradicted his account. The investigation is not yet complete and no disciplinary steps have been taken, McGovern said.
No such irregularities have been flagged in Massport overtime. In fact, McGovern said, time sheets have been double-checked internally, verifying, in McSweeney's case, that he complied with departmental policy that limits State Police personnel to working a total of 99.5 hours (out of a possible 168) in any one week. Massport figures show that in the first 11 months of 2002, McSweeney was paid his base salary of $85,516, plus $160,132 in overtime, and $5,360 for airport details.
Last Dec. 1, McSweeney was transferred to the Danvers barracks, McGovern said.
McSweeney was one of five Massport-based State Police paid more than $200,000 last year. The others were Sergeant William Leary ($214,627, $118,816 in OT), Lieutenant Thomas P. Glynn ($210,921, $112,011 in OT), Sergeant David A. O'Leary ($206,379, $89,101 in OT), and Sergeant John J. Staples ($202,158, $117,635 in OT). Nine others made more than $190,000, including the highest-paid trooper, Kevin Hogaboom, who ranked 12th in gross compensation at $193,962, but second to McSweeney in overtime with $125,780.
Among Massport State Police, for whom complete 2002 salary information was available yesterday, base salaries averaged $96,959 for lieutenants, $81,118 for sergeants, and $68,112 for troopers. By rank, overtime averaged $109,058 for lieutenants, $77,743 for sergeants, and $62,113 for troopers. Troop Captain Martha A. Catalano received base pay of $105,998 plus overtime of $26,300.
For the 60 additional officers assigned to Massport since 9/11, only partial pay information was immediately available. Most of the officers have worked at the authority for more than a year, but their salaries were paid out of the state budget until last fall when they were permanently shifted to the Massport budget.
