Newburyport Police Department Charges Former Employee with Larceny, Embezzlement, from Police Relief Association

For Immediate Release

Friday, June 20, 2014

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net

Newburyport Police Charge Former Police Sergeant with Larceny, Embezzlement

Audit Showed More than $41,000 Missing from Police Relief Association

NEWBURYPORT — City Marshal Thomas Howard today announced that a former member of the Newburyport Police Department has been charged with embezzling money out of the Police Relief Association.

ALAN MAGUIRE, age 53, of Salisbury, has been charged with one count of larceny over $250 and one count of larceny over $250 by embezzlement, both felonies. He will be summonsed to court.

Police allege that between 2008-2013, while he was an officer in the Newburyport Police Relief Association, MAGUIRE stole more than $40,000 from the charitable organization.

“These are serious allegations that involve a police officer taking money away from a charitable organization meant to help other officers in need,” Marshal Howard said. “This is a shocking, disappointing betrayal of trust.”

The Newburyport Police Relief Association is a private charitable organization, whose funding is supposed to be used to give scholarships to students and to benefit injured, sick, and disabled police officers, and the families of police officers who die in the line of duty.

MAGUIRE was a police officer in Newburyport from 1983 until Sept. 7, 2013, when he retired with the rank of sergeant.

After MAGUIRE’S retirement, the incoming president of the Relief Association noticed serious funding discrepancies and notified the City Marshal.

During the course of the investigation, which included questioning MAGUIRE, the police department sought guidance from the Public Integrity Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and forwarded all of the facts of the case to the Office of Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett for its impartial assistance.

An audit by the District Attorney’s office showed that $41,636 could not be accounted for. The audit and police investigation have resulted in the charges announced today.

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