< Back to front page Text size – +

Ex-MBTA workers plead guilty to having no-show jobs, AG says

E-mail|Link|Comments () January 4, 2010 03:34 PM

By Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

Christopher Peatridge owned a security business that would take him out of state for weeks at a time, where he would stay at luxury hotels and earn tens of thousands of dollars, authorities said.

But as he fulfilled his entrepreneurial duties, Peatridge had a back-up job. He was on the MBTA payroll, submitting time sheets, and collecting a salary as a construction supervisor for hours when he was far away from MBTA properties, according to authorities.

Peatridge was among three men who pleaded guilty late last week in connection with a no-show job investigation, according to a statement from the Attorney General’s office, which conducted an investigation with the inspector general’s office.

Peatridge, 64, of Saugus, pleaded guilty Dec. 31 to two counts of presenting false claims and two counts of larceny over $250. Suffolk Superior Judge Carol S. Bell sentenced him to a year of incarceration, plus an additional 18 months that will be suspended. He also received probation and a $10,000 fine.

Michael O’Toole, 49, of Milton, and Francis Flaherty, 52, of South Boston, pleaded guilty Dec. 30 to charges of presentation of false claims and larceny. Each received a two-year suspended sentence and two years' probation.

On the same day he admitted his guilt in court, O'Toole resigned his job as a court officer in Probate and Family Court, a court spokeswoman said today.

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.

But the investigation, which began in 2005 and led to a 2008 indictment, found that Peatridge and O'Toole cheated on their time sheets on various days in 2004 and 2005, while Flaherty cheated on his in 2006.

MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said that O'Toole and Peatridge had retired and Flaherty was notified at the time of his indictment in September 2008 that he was suspended without pay.

Pesaturo said the dismissal process for Flaherty began last week with the guilty plea, in accordance with collective-bargaining rules.

The MBTA has had well-documented and extensive problems with construction projects, which have been subject to extensive delays and cost overruns.

After the fraud accusations were made, the T's design and construction division began a random job site inspection program to ensure that employees are performing their assigned duties, Pesaturo said in an e-mail.

Peatridge, a former union president, could not be reached for comment this afternoon. Flaherty’s attorney Timothy Flaherty, could not immediately be reached for comment.

O'Toole's lawyer, Tom Drechsler, said, “It was a very fair and equitable result. My client just wanted to put the matter behind him and move on.”