3 T workers accused of lying on time sheets indicted

Three men were indicted yesterday for presenting false time sheets and failing to show up for work at MBTA job sites, according to Attorney General Martha Coakley's office.

A Suffolk County grand jury charged Michael O'Toole, 49, of Milton, Francis Flaherty, 52, of South Boston, and Christopher Peatridge, 64, of Saugus with presentation of false claims and larceny, according to a statement from Coakley's office.

Their arraignments have not yet been scheduled.

The attorney general's office began an investigation in April 2005 with the inspector general's office after it received an anonymous tip alleging that employees in the Design and Construction Department of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority rarely showed up for work.

O'Toole declined to comment. Neither Flaherty nor his attorney, Timothy Flaherty of Boston, returned messages seeking comment. Peatridge could not be reached.

As construction inspectors, Flaherty and Peatridge, along with resident engineer O'Toole, were required to oversee construction completed by general contractors each day on-site, according to Coakley.

Between April and June 2005, Peatridge's MBTA time sheets claimed he worked a full day starting at 7 a.m., when surveillance showed that he actually arrived after lunch, Coakley said.

Peatridge, between July and November 2004, was paid by the MBTA for days when he was working for his own security business, Coakley said. He allegedly earned tens of thousands of dollars, she added.

Flaherty and O'Toole were also paid a full day's wages when they worked "considerably less than a full day's work," she said.

Surveillance also showed that O'Toole was rarely at his job site for more than a few hours between April 2004 and June 2005, and sometimes never showed up, according to Coakley.

Flaherty worked "considerably less" than the eight hours indicated on his time sheet and was paid in full between June and September 2006, the attorney general said.

According to Harry Pierre, a spokesman for Coakley, Peatridge committed time sheet deceptions while working at the Orient Heights Car House in East Boston; Flaherty at a project on State Street; and O'Toole at the Fairmont Line Project in 2004 and at a noise wall in Dedham in 2005.

MBTA officials have cooperated with investigators during the investigation, Coakley said.

T spokesman Joe Pesaturo said O'Toole and Peatridge had retired and Flaherty was notified yesterday that he was suspended without pay.