They include Thomas Nee, the former president of the Boston Police Patrolmens Association, the citys largest police union, who collected more than $3,590 in fraudulent overtime pay over a two-year period, according to an affidavit. Nee, who retired from the department last month, did not respond to requests for comment.

Also implicated is Sybil Mason, the ex-wife of fired commissioner Dennis White. Federal investigators seized Masons cellphone records as part of their ongoing probe and alleged in an affidavit that she collected $7,208 in overtime pay that she didnt earn. Mason, who did not respond to several messages, remains with the department.

Federal investigators also identified three others who allegedly received pay they did not earn: Andre Williams, accused of collecting $11,181 in fraudulent overtime pay; Darius Agnew, who allegedly collected $9,702; and Kennedy Semedo, accused of pocketing $4,594.

Agnew and Williams both retired from the department in 2019, according to city records. Semedo is on active duty. Each either declined to comment or didnt respond to messages.

The documents suggest that investigators have unearthed evidence of abuses that extend well beyond those officers who have been charged to date.

The five names appear in affidavits filed last year in the US District Court of Massachusetts by Department of Justice special agent Shena Latta that were submitted as part of search warrant applications for cellphone location records for 15 officers within the BPDs evidence unit.

The documents were filed under seal and made public in October. However, they are not linked directly in the federal court records system to any of the pending cases. A Globe reporter only recently discovered the affidavits.

Sergeant Detective John Boyle, a Boston police spokesman, has repeatedly declined to discuss the overtime scandal, citing the ongoing investigation. A spokeswoman for the US attorneys office for the District of Massachusetts also declined to respond to questions due to the continuing investigation, as did a spokeswoman for the FBI.

Two former federal prosecutors told the Globe this week that there are several reasons why some officers may be implicated but still avoid charges.

Sometimes the evidence [federal authorities] obtain doesnt corroborate their original theory, or the amounts involved are too minimal to get their attention, said Brian T. Kelly, the former chief of the public corruption unit of the US attorneys office in Massachusetts and a partner at Nixon Peabody.

Tony Fuller, a partner at Hogan Lovells who coprosecuted former House speaker Sal DiMasi on corruption charges, said some people could be negotiating pleas or cooperating with authorities. Or there might be mitigating facts and circumstances that make federal prosecution of the offenses inappropriate for certain individuals, Fuller added.

At least two unnamed officers from the evidence unit, court records show, are cooperating with the government in exchange for avoiding prosecution in the case.

Nine of the officers named in Lattas affidavits were arrested last September and charged with embezzlement and conspiracy to commit theft of federal program funds. In the months since, four additional officers including a retired captain who oversaw the departments evidence warehouse have also been charged.

Nees connection to the overtime scheme represents the latest blow to the departments politically powerful patrolmens union. Last August, Patrick M. Rose, who replaced Nee as union president in 2014, was arrested and charged with multiple counts of indecent assault on a child under 14.

Nee, who also served as president of the National Association of Police Organizations, rose to prominence here in the early 2000s, amid the unions fierce contract battles with then-mayor Thomas M. Menino.

As union president, Nee helped organize a variety of protests, in one case attempting to bar Menino in 2003 from the citys annual Labor Day breakfast. In 2000, he pushed hard against then-commissioner Paul Evanss calls for police reforms aimed at holding problem officers more accountable.

Nee, who argued that the departments internal discipline process was unfair to rank-and-file officers, said in an interview at the time that if a cop took the tack of Paul Evans, he would find his ass in federal prison.

Larry Calderone, the unions current president, did not respond to a request for comment.

The widening overtime scandal comes as the department has continually vowed to curb such abuses.

Despite a number of embarrassing episodes, including a 2015 department audit that showed officers were routinely paid for time they didnt work, it remains unclear what steps the department has taken to curb such abuses.

Last year, the department touted the 2019 promotion of Marcus Eddings to superintendent, tasked with overseeing overtime and paid detail earnings as a significant step in shoring up abuses. But in his first 14 months on the job, Eddings failed to open a single investigation into overtime irregularities, a spokesman for the agency confirmed last year. The department has repeatedly declined to discuss Eddingss more recent work.

For now, it remains unclear how long or deeply federal investigators intend to dig, though recent signs point to a widening scope; according to court filings, authorities have begun to examine overtime records going further back in time.

Acting Mayor Kim Janey, who in recent weeks has been engulfed in a messy legal battle with White, has so far been silent on the growing overtime scandal. On Tuesday, her administration declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

Dugan Arnett can be reached at dugan.arnett@globe.com.

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Five more linked to burgeoning Boston police pay fraud scandal, including former union president - The Boston Globe