More than 60 Massachusetts state troopers made “covert investigative recordings” in recent years that were never turned over to prosecutors and in many cases violated the state’s wiretapping law, documents obtained by the Telegram & Gazette show.
The recordings, which mostly appear to have been made during drug investigations, were made in more than 250 criminal cases, the documents show, including cases brought by local, state and federal prosecutors.
“That we’re even here, frankly, is shocking to me,” Christopher P. LoConto, first justice of the Fitchburg District Court, said during a recent court hearing on the recordings in which he asked pointed questions of current and former troopers under oath.
It was while discussing a Fitchburg drug case with an undercover state police detective in 2023 that local prosecutors first learned troopers had made, but failed to disclose, audio and video recordings of drug purchases.
Prosecutors are legally bound to provide defendants with any evidence of their statements, and a failure to do so could open the door to court challenges or civil lawsuits that could threaten convictions or lead to monetary damages.