Pubdate: Sat, 04 Feb 2006
Source: Lowell Sun (MA)
Copyright: 2006 MediaNews Group, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.lowellsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/852
Author: Lisa Redmond, Sun Staff
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

EX-CHELMSFORD OFFICER GETS YEAR HOUSE ARREST, MUST REPAY $5G

CAMBRIDGE -- For three years, Officer Michael Horan was the "public 
face" of the Chelmsford Police Department.

He worked with hundreds of children and their families as the 
department's D.A.R.E. officer in the Parker and McCarthy middle schools.

A congenial and decorated cop, Horan, who joined the department in 
1999, was the link between police and the Chelmsford Public Schools.

But Horan had a monkey on his back.

He had a gambling problem in which he would spend hundreds, if not 
thousands of dollars each week on scratch tickets, prosecutor Lee 
Hettinger said. Horan also took trips to Las Vegas casinos and 
Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.

With his $39,000 salary garnished for child support, Horan fueled his 
gambling problem by pocketing the cash from D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse 
Resistance Education) charity events, such as flag football and 
basketball, raffles and other programs from 2002 to 2003, as well as 
money that had been donated to the cause.

In total, Horan stole about $5,000 from the D.A.R.E. program, money 
that was supposed to be used for the children, Hettinger said.

The thefts weren't noticed until September 2003, when the Police 
Department moved to a new building and some money seized as evidence 
in a criminal case was missing. This triggered an investigation and 
an accounting of all the cash within the department. Part of the 
focus was the D.A.R.E. program.

In Middlesex Superior Court yesterday, Horan, 31, of Chelmsford, 
wiped away tears as he pleaded guilty to 10 counts of embezzlement by 
a municipal officer, eight counts of larceny over $250 and two counts 
of larceny under $250.

Although Hettinger recommended Horan spend a year in jail plus 
restitution, Judge Geraldine Hines followed defense attorney Daniel 
Wilkins' request, sentencing Horan to a year of house arrest in which 
he is to wear a GPS ankle bracelet.

With the bracelet, Horan, who has been fired from the Police 
Department, can go to his construction job, attend church and visit 
his daughter all while being tracked by the state Probation 
Department. But there won't be trips to Mohegan Sun.

After his house arrest, Horan will be on probation for two years, 
during which he is ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution.

The D.A.R.E. program in Chelmsford is now defunct, Hettinger said. 
And the Chelmsford Police Department has suffered a black eye from 
this incident.

"This is probably the saddest day of my 32-year career," Police Chief 
Raymond McCusker said during yesterday's proceedings.

Due to his "selfishness and greed," Horan "stole the good reputation" 
of the Chelmsford police and its officers, McCusker said.

Reached at home last night, School Committee Chairwoman Evelyn Thoren 
said Horan's crime can be used as a learning tool for children.

"These individuals are not good role models for our students, but we 
can use them as examples of what not to do," she said.

But Horan's stint as an officer was not all without merit.

Horan was honored with a meritorious award in 2002 for his role 
during a four-hour standoff between police and Chelmsford resident 
Gerald Coviello in September 2001. But with his own legal troubles 
hanging over his head, Horan never testified at Coviello's trial last 
month. Coviello was cleared of all the remaining charges.

McCusker said that until yesterday, Horan had "charmed or lied his 
way out of things."

As he walked out of the courthouse, accompanied by a half-dozen 
officers from his department, McCusker said, "It's an ugly part of 
the past. It's behind us. It's time to move on."

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Sun staff writer Jack Minch contributed to this report.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman