Office of the Attorney General: Longshoreman Pleads Guilty to Fraud and Conspiracy

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

July 22, 2008

BOSTON – Yesterday, a Boston longshoreman pled guilty in Suffolk Superior Court to alleged benefits fraud related to longshoreman labor provided to Massport. Shawn O’Donnell, age 40, of Saugus, pled guilty to Procurement Fraud (two counts) and Submitting False Entries in Corporate Books (two counts). Nine other defendants have already either pled guilty or been convicted at trial and sentenced. Another 10 longshoremen still face similar charges in Suffolk Superior Court.

The Attorney General’s Office began an extensive criminal investigation in April 2005, after the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) contacted the Attorney General’s Office about concerns that longshoremen were placing children as young as two years old on the payroll at the docks. The investigation examined payroll fraud schemes involving longshoremen who load and unload container ships at Massachusetts Port Authority's (Massport) Conley Terminal in South Boston. State Police and financial investigators assigned to the Attorney General's Office uncovered widespread instances where longshoremen were participating in schemes to defraud Massport and other marine shipping businesses operating at the port.

While working on the docks, Shawn O’Donnell was the chief union timekeeper for the International Longshoremen’s Association, and was responsible for filling out the time sheets for the longshoremen who worked at these docks. Investigators discovered that in September 2004, O’Donnell had written in the name of his then two-year-old daughter on a timesheet, identifying her as a driver. O’Donnell’s daughter was credited with three hours of work and received a payroll check for approximately $63.

During the course of the investigation, authorities also determined that Shawn O’Donnell had helped his cousin work under his cousin’ s brother’s name. Investigators discovered that on two separate occasions, O’Donnell’s cousin told him that he wanted to work under his brother’s name. O’Donnell told his cousin to complete a tax form in his cousin’s brother’s name. Investigators also learned that O’Donnell had written his cousin’s brother’s name on the union timesheets on one of the occasions, knowing that it was the cousin who was actually performing the work.

A Suffolk Grand Jury returned the indictments against O’ Donnell on August 8, 2006. He was arraigned on September 5, 2006, entered a plea of not guilty, and was released on bail. Yesterday, O’Donnell entered a guilty plea before Judge Margaret Hinkle. He will be sentenced on July 31, 2008, at 9:00 a.m. in Suffolk Superior Court

Massport officials cooperated and assisted with the Attorney General's investigation. Investigators from the U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration and Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations assisted in this investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General James O ’Brien, Marc Jones, and David Waterfall of Attorney General Coakley’s Corruption & Fraud Division, with assistance from Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Attorney General's Office. Assistance was also provided by Financial Investigators James McFadden and Michael Guarin.