BOSTON (WHDH) - Former state trooper Eric Chin, who collected overtime for hours he did not work, will not be serving prison time.
Although sentencing guidelines for the offense he pleaded guilty to calls for 6 to 12 months in prison, the judge sentenced Chin to one day in prison, with his day in court on Monday counting toward the sentence.
The 46-year-old was also sentenced to one year of supervised release with three months of that to be served at his home, and he must pay back the $7,000 he admitted to stealing.
Chin is among 40 state trooper accused of collecting overtime for shifts they did not work. All of the troopers worked out of the since-shutdown Troop E Barracks, which patrolled the Mass. Turnpike.
Chin, who was fired in December, apologized in court and after his sentencing.
“I just want to apologize to all the taxpayers,” Chin said. “Obviously, it was a mistake that I made and I paid for it.”
Chin said he will miss being a police officer.
“I’ll miss it a lot. It was my whole life. I was a police officer for over 20 years. I feel like I treated everyone with respect and the way I would want to be treated,” Chin said. “Unfortunately, it was a mistake I made and I paid the ultimate price with the job.”
Chin does not blame the culture of Troop E for his decision to collect the overtime he did not earn.
“You’re gonna do what you do. I’m not blaming anybody for that,” Chin said. “The state police has been around for a long time. If anyone thinks that real changes are gonna happen overnight because they changed the colonel, it’s not going to happen.”
Seven other state troopers have pleaded guilty in the overtime scandal. The second trooper will be sentenced Tuesday.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)