Defendant allegedly flew armed 28 times from Logan Airport while not on official police business
BOSTON - A Boston Police Sergeant Detective was charged today in federal court in Boston with repeatedly making false statements so that he could fly armed on personal trips and enable a friend to fly with him without being screened by security personnel at Boston’s Logan International Airport.
Bruce E. Smith, 53, of Randolph, was charged in a criminal complaint with making false statements to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Department of Homeland Security, as well as with unlawfully entering a secure airport area with intent to evade security requirements. Smith is scheduled to appear today at 2:30 p.m. before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Jennifer C. Boal.
According to court documents, Smith has been employed with the Boston Police Department (BPD) since 1989 and is currently a Sergeant Detective assigned to District E-13, Jamaica Plain, as a district detective supervisor.
The complaint alleges that between April 2011 and April 2017, Smith flew armed on approximately 28 separate trips departing from Logan Airport even though he was not on official business, which is a violation of federal law. On each of those trips, he falsely claimed to have obtained supervisor approval for his travel. On at least two of them, Smith also escorted or attempted to escort a friend, Leroy Ross, through Logan Airport without security screening. Smith falsely claimed that Ross was a “dignitary" under Smith’s official police escort. When questioned by TSA security personnel as to what type of dignitary Ross was, Smith falsely replied, “I am not at liberty to divulge that information." In fact, Ross, who has a criminal record, is not a dignitary, but a mobile HIV clinic operator in Randolph. According to the complaint, Smith also fraudulently requested and received overtime pay for an intelligence meeting/event in Boston that he did not attend because he was on personal travel in North Carolina.
The charging statutes provide for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb, Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, and Mark Tasky, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, Washington Field Office, made the announcement today. The investigation was conducted jointly by BPD’s Anti-Corruption Division and DHS-OIG. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary R. Hafer of Weinreb’s Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
