MBTA trolley driver allegedly paid a person $2,000 to don 'Michael Myers' Halloween mask and attack him, prosecutors say
By Gintautas Dumcius [email protected]
A MBTA trolley driver paid someone to don a "Michael Myers" Halloween mask and attack him so the driver could collect workers' compensation and disability insurance, Suffolk County prosecutors said Thursday.
A Suffolk grand jury indicted the trolley driver, 46-year-old Thomas Lucey on two counts of insurance fraud, and single counts of workers' compensation fraud, misleading police and perjury. Lucey is a Saugus resident.
"Effective investigators follow the evidence wherever it leads," Suffolk District Attorney Dan Conley said in a statement. "Here, it led us away from first appearances and toward a staged assault for financial gain. We allege that this was a deliberate deception and a crime. Every dollar spent on a fraudulent claim is a dollar that can't go to someone who deserved it."
The incident occurred just after midnight on October 30, 2016, and drew a condemnation from Gov. Charlie Baker when it initially appeared to be an attack on a public employee.
Officers with the MBTA Transit Police Department arrived at Cedar Grove Station on the Mattapan Line, which cuts through a Dorchester cemetery, after reports of a man with a "Michael Myers" Halloween mask boarding the train and attacking Lucey. The masked man was also carrying a plastic pumpkin.
"Lucey reported that the assailant pulled him out of the trolley and punched him repeatedly as he lay on the ground before fleeing the area," the release from Conley's office said. Lucey was then taken to nearby Carney Hospital.
Police officers found the plastic pumpkin and picked up fingerprints that led them to a Lucey acquaintance who cooperated with the investigation.
"He made statements to Transit Police that Lucey had paid him $2,000 to take part in the planned 'attack,' which was corroborated by bank records and phone records that showed communication between the two before and after the assault," Conley's office said.
Prosecutors allege Lucey pursued workers' compensation, signing paperwork under pains and penalties of perjury. He was also provided with long-term disability insurance after he said he had post-traumatic stress caused by the incident.
Lucey's arraignment is scheduled for March 20.
"Programs like Workers' Compensation are in place to benefit hard working employees with a strong commitment to public service," MBTA general manager Luis Manuel Ramirez said. "When someone abuses the system, we need to call it out, and state very clearly that such conduct will not be tolerated."
By Gintautas Dumcius [email protected]
A MBTA trolley driver paid someone to don a "Michael Myers" Halloween mask and attack him so the driver could collect workers' compensation and disability insurance, Suffolk County prosecutors said Thursday.
A Suffolk grand jury indicted the trolley driver, 46-year-old Thomas Lucey on two counts of insurance fraud, and single counts of workers' compensation fraud, misleading police and perjury. Lucey is a Saugus resident.
"Effective investigators follow the evidence wherever it leads," Suffolk District Attorney Dan Conley said in a statement. "Here, it led us away from first appearances and toward a staged assault for financial gain. We allege that this was a deliberate deception and a crime. Every dollar spent on a fraudulent claim is a dollar that can't go to someone who deserved it."
The incident occurred just after midnight on October 30, 2016, and drew a condemnation from Gov. Charlie Baker when it initially appeared to be an attack on a public employee.
Officers with the MBTA Transit Police Department arrived at Cedar Grove Station on the Mattapan Line, which cuts through a Dorchester cemetery, after reports of a man with a "Michael Myers" Halloween mask boarding the train and attacking Lucey. The masked man was also carrying a plastic pumpkin.
"Lucey reported that the assailant pulled him out of the trolley and punched him repeatedly as he lay on the ground before fleeing the area," the release from Conley's office said. Lucey was then taken to nearby Carney Hospital.
Police officers found the plastic pumpkin and picked up fingerprints that led them to a Lucey acquaintance who cooperated with the investigation.
"He made statements to Transit Police that Lucey had paid him $2,000 to take part in the planned 'attack,' which was corroborated by bank records and phone records that showed communication between the two before and after the assault," Conley's office said.
Prosecutors allege Lucey pursued workers' compensation, signing paperwork under pains and penalties of perjury. He was also provided with long-term disability insurance after he said he had post-traumatic stress caused by the incident.
Lucey's arraignment is scheduled for March 20.
"Programs like Workers' Compensation are in place to benefit hard working employees with a strong commitment to public service," MBTA general manager Luis Manuel Ramirez said. "When someone abuses the system, we need to call it out, and state very clearly that such conduct will not be tolerated."
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