Commonwealth v. Mills

764 N.E.2d 854 (2002)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

Mills (D) retired from the Boston police department after he was diagnosed with hypertensive heart disease. He applied for and received a pension of approximately $15,500 per year. D started a private investigation business in New Hampshire. From 1993-1995, D spent every business day at the Middlesex Superior Court. Clerk-magistrate Marshall handled most of the appointments of counsel for indigent defendants and motions for investigation funds. Marshall would appoint one attorney from among a group of four who were typically in the courtroom. Those four attorneys moved for investigation funds in every one of their cases and always retained the services of D. Marshall 'rubber-stamped' his allowance of these motions off the record and in his back office where D usually spent three hours a day socializing with Marshall. For fiscal year 1993, D billed CPCS $107,000 for investigative services. and for fiscal year 1994, $197,000, representing 5,483 hours of investigative services. On forty-four occasions, the D submitted bills with more than twenty-four hours of work attributed to a single day. In 1995, D billed CPCS for approximately $359,000, representing 10,057 hours of investigative services. The defendant submitted 211 bills in which he claimed to have worked well over twenty-four hours in a single day (with some days as long as seventy-two hours). Between 1992 and 1994, D received approximately $45,000 in nontaxable accidental disability benefits from the board. D could earn about $30K per year before being liable for any refunds. In 1992, D withdrew $89,637 from the corporate account but reported to the board that he had earned a total of $25,000. In 1993, D withdrew $65,640 and reported to the board that he had earned a total of $17,500. In 1994, the defendant withdrew $104,494 and reported to the board that he had earned a total of $30,000. D was charged with larceny and larceny by false pretenses. At the close of the Commonwealth's case, D presented a general motion for required findings of not guilty. The motion was denied. D rested without presenting any evidence, the defendant renewed his motion, and it was again denied. D was convicted and appealed. The appeals court reversed, and P appealed.