Attorneys have filed warring ideas of what penalty is appropriate for the fraud-filled mess the former leader of the State Police union and its chief lobbyist made.
Former State Police Association of Massachusetts President Dana Pullman, 60, of Worcester, and lobbyist Anne Lynch, 72, of Hull, were convicted in federal court in November of one count each of racketeering conspiracy, honest services wire fraud, obstruction of justice, conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and three counts of wire fraud.
“Pullman and Lynch ran SPAM as a racketeering organization for their own financial benefit for six years, depriving the union and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts of their right to Pullman’s honest services; defrauding vendors looking to do business with the Massahcusetts State Police; and attempting to obstruct the federal investigation into their crimes,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo filed on Wednesday.
The case played out through a steady stream of financial documents and statements. Those numbers showed not only SPAM reimbursements to Pullman for things from fancy dinners to a multi-day stay at a luxe Miami resort with a romantic interest but also a series of what prosecutors called kickbacks or bribes.
Prosecutors Kristina Barclay and Neil Gallagher, Jr. recommended a sentence of five years and 3 months for both of them. In addition to that, they recommended some hefty restitution toward SPAM, two companies their plan defrauded, the IRS, and to the state Department of Revenue.
The current iteration of the State Police union says that while the crimes of Pullman and Lynch stung, the organization has moved on.
“The Association is proud to support our brave men and women of the State Police Association of Massachusetts. Unfortunately, we were the victims in this case,” union spokesman Cam Goggins said in a written statement to the Herald on Friday. “That being said, we have already moved on from the past and look forward towards a brighter future.”
Lynch’s defense attorney Scott Lopez asked that the court not give his client any jail time but consider probation with community service or home confinement.
Lopez described Lynch as a woman “who, other than the events in this case, has lived an exemplary life” and as “devoted to her family, friends, clients, and community,” who has “been a trailblazer in the lobbying field, a field dominated by men, and a mentor to many women.”
Pullman’s attorney Timothy Watkins asked that Pullman be sentenced to time served followed by three years of supervised release with the first year to be under home confinement, and cited numerous commendations Pullman had received during his service.
“While the trial’s focus rested largely on the circumstances underlying the offenses of conviction, his tenure involved significant accomplishments, as the government concedes,” Watkins wrote in his memo.
