Detective who quit charged with lying to FBI in investigation
A day after a detective abruptly resigned from the Stoughton Police Department, he was charged yesterday with making false statements to the FBI during an ongoing investigation into corruption.
Arlindo Romeiro, 37, was charged with one count of making false statements and representations while being interviewed by FBI agents on July 13 “regarding an ongoing corruption investigation.’’ He is charged in a federal information, which generally signals that a defendant has reached a plea agreement and waived his right to have evidence presented to a grand jury.
“The integrity of our justice system requires police officers to be truthful when questioned regarding any subject and particularly in corruption matters,’’ US Attorney Carmen Ortiz said in a press release announcing the criminal charge. “Allegations of a police officer making false statements are serious charges and undermine the public’s confidence in our criminal justice system.’’
Romeiro’s lawyer, Daniel W. O’Malley of Quincy, did not return telephone calls yesterday. A Stoughton police dispatcher said the department would not issue any information about Romeiro or comment on the case until Acting Chief Thomas Murphy returns to the office Monday.
Romeiro was not arrested. He has been ordered to appear in US District Court in Boston on Dec. 7 for arraignment.
Stoughton Town Manager Mark Stankiewicz said Romeiro had been on the force for about eight or nine years and delivered a one-page letter to the chief’s office about noon Thursday announcing his resignation, effective immediately.
The federal charge against Romeiro “goes to the credibility of the department,’’ Stankiewicz said. “This unfortunately damages the public trust of the department. . . . If there’s wrongdoing in the department, it needs to be found out, and it needs to be cleaned up.’’
He added that it was disconcerting that two other officers, one who retired and another who resigned, have also left the department abruptly within the past few months.
Romeiro is the first officer to be charged since the FBI launched an investigation earlier this year into allegations of theft and possible corruption by Stoughton police officers. A few months ago, FBI agents showed up at a Portuguese social club on Washington Street in Stoughton, pulled two flat-screen televisions from the wall, checked the serial numbers to confirm they were stolen, and carted them away.
The investigation has been fueled by allegations made by a longtime informant for former Stoughton police detective Anthony Bickerton, ccording to several people familiar with the investigation who spoke on condition of anonymity. They said the informant, who has a lengthy criminal record, began cooperating with authorities after he was arrested on a number of charges.
Bickerton, who is a member of the Stoughton School Committee, retired from the Police Department in September after 30 years on the force.
Brockton lawyer Joseph Krowski, who represents Bickerton, declined to comment yesterday on the FBI investigation and said Bickerton “has done nothing wrong.’’
The investigation comes on the heels of another unrelated scandal that shook the Stoughton Police Department.
The former chief, Manuel J. Cachopa, was convicted in state court in January of being an accessory to attempted extortion and placed on probation for three years. The charges stemmed from allegations that he tried to cover up and hinder an investigation into allegations that Sergeant David Cohen abused his authority in 2002 while attempting to collect a debt from a local businessman.
Cohen was convicted of attempted extortion and witness intimidation in 2007 and sentenced to two years in prison.
Shelley Murphy can be reached at shmurphy@globe.com. 
