Date: November 3, 2022 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov BOSTON — The former president of the State Police Association of Massachusetts (SPAM) and the union's former Massachusetts lobbyist were convicted by a federal jury today of racketeering, fraud, obstruction of justice and tax crimes. Dana A. Pullman, of Worcester, and Anne M. Lynch, of Hull, were convicted following a 20-day jury trial of one count of racketeering conspiracy, one count of honest services wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, one count of obstruction of justice and one count of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. Pullman was also convicted of two additional counts of wire fraud and two counts of aiding and assisting the filing of a false tax return. Lynch was convicted of an additional count of obstruction of justice and four counts of aiding and assisting in the filing of a false tax return. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock scheduled sentencing for March 8, 2023. Pullman and Lynch were arrested and charged in August 2019 and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2019. "Being a police officer is a noble and valued profession. It is an honor and privilege to serve as a member of law enforcement. With that honor and privilege comes immense responsibility. Regardless of whether some may think it's unfair, as members of law enforcement, we are and should be held to a higher standard. Our fundamental responsibility is plain and simple – to protect and serve. We enforce the law, we do not break it," said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins. "Police union leadership is supposed to fight for the rights, benefits and protections of their members. Not their own self-interests for personal financial gain. Mr. Pullman and Ms. Lynch concocted a fraudulent scheme to game the system for their personal financial benefit, all under the guise of looking out for hard working union members. Today's conviction affirms that. Their criminal conduct has diminished the already strained relationship and lack of trust some communities feel toward law enforcement. And when communities don't trust law enforcement, we are all less safe." "Today's verdict proves that Dana Pullman and Anne Lynch were paid to look out for the best interests of Massachusetts State Police union members, but instead were only looking out for themselves, lining their pockets with thousands of dollars in bribes and kickbacks and defrauding at least two different companies seeking to do business with the state," said Joseph Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. "They crossed over the thin blue line to committing felonies while the real victims in this case—hard-working troopers, taxpayers, and businesses—were short changed and shut out of the honest government services they deserve. The FBI has zero tolerance for those who exploit their official positions for personal gain and then try to obstruct our investigation into their criminal conduct." "Instead of honestly representing the interests of the more than 1,500 Massachusetts law enforcement professionals, these defendants cared more about enriching themselves through a series of bribes and kickbacks. Today's guilty verdict affirms that their actions violated the trust given to them and this conduct will not go unpunished," said Joleen D. Simpson, Special Agent in Charge of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office. SPAM is an association consisting of more than 1,500 Troopers and Sergeants from the Massachusetts State Police (MSP). SPAM acts as the exclusive bargaining agent between its members and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts regarding the terms and conditions of SPAM members' employment. Pullman, who was an MSP trooper from 1987 to 2018, was the President of SPAM from 2012 until his resignation on Sept. 28, 2018. Lynch's lobbying firm represented SPAM during the same time period, in exchange for monthly retainer payments. From at least 2012 until Pullman resigned as the President in September 2018, Pullman and Lynch turned SPAM into a racketeering enterprise, using Pullman's position and power to defraud SPAM members, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and vendors looking to do business with the MSP. Among other things, Pullman and Lynch defrauded SPAM members and the Commonwealth of their right to honest services from Pullman when Lynch paid Pullman a $20,000 kickback in connection with a settlement agreement between SPAM and the Commonwealth. Pullman and Lynch defrauded two different companies that sought to do business with the MSP by hiding from the vendors the fact that Lynch was paying Pullman to direct vendors to use Lynch's services. The defendants hid the payments from Lynch and her lobbying firm to Pullman in a manner designed to avoid reporting and paying taxes on that income to the IRS. Pullman and Lynch also attempted to obstruct the grand jury's investigation of this matter by manipulating subpoenaed records, and Lynch attempted to obstruct the grand jury's investigation by lying to investigators. Additionally, Pullman embezzled and misused SPAM funds for personal use by using a debit card tied to a SPAM bank account to pay for thousands of dollars of meals and travel for an individual with whom Pullman was having a romantic relationship. The charges of racketeering conspiracy and fraud each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of obstruction of justice provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of aiding and assisting the filing of a false tax return provides for a sentence of up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release and fine of $100,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. U.S. Attorney Rollins, IRS-CI SAC Simpson, and FBI SAC Bonavolonta made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristina E. Barclay and Neil J. Gallagher Jr. of Rollins' Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit are prosecuting the case.
