Trio allegedly cheated on MBTA time sheets

September 11, 2008 05:20 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By Globe Staff

Three men have been indicted for allegedly not showing up to work at the MBTA and then filling out timesheets to get paid anyway, the attorney general's office said today.

Michael O'Toole, 49, of Milton; Francis Flaherty, 52, of South Boston; and Christopher Peatridge, 64, of Saugus face charges of larceny over $250 and presentation of false claims.

Flaherty and Peatridge worked at MBTA job sites as construction inspectors, while O'Toole was a resident engineer. All were required to be on-site daily to oversee work by general contractors, the attorney general's office said in a statement.

But a joint investigation by the attorney general and inspector general found that Peatridge and O'Toole allegedly cheated on their time sheets on various days in 2004 and 2005, while Flaherty cheated on his in 2006.

"Authorities allege that all three men made or presented false time sheets showing that they had worked a full eight-hour day during the indicated time periods, when in fact they had either worked less than eight hours, or in some instances not at all. The men got paid based on the submission of these false time sheets," the attorney general's office said in a statement.

The indictment was handed up today by a Suffolk County grand jury. An arraignment date has not yet been set. MBTA offcials cooperated with the investigation, the statement said.

MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said that O'Toole and Peatridge had retired and Flaherty was notified today that he was suspended without pay.

O'Toole said he didn't have a comment. Neither Flaherty nor his attorney, Timothy Flaherty of Boston, returned a message seeking comment. There was no telephone listing for a Christopher Peatridge in Saugus.