By Patrick Johnson
LUDLOW — The Board of Selectmen
on Tuesday night voted to suspended indicted police Lt. Thomas Foye without
pay, effective immediately, pending the outcome of his court case on charges of
the theft of drugs from a police evidence locker last year.
The vote was 5-0.
Foye had been suspended with pay
since his arrest, but with a Hampden Superior Court grand jury handing down a
5-count indictment last week, the board is allowed under state law to make the
suspension without pay.
Foye and his attorney, Michael
Clancy of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, were present.
At the start of the meeting,
Foye asked if the board would be willing to go into executive session so that
he might speak in private about particulars of his case without the press and
public having access. When the board opposed that, he sat silent during the
discussion, asking only that he be allowed to make a brief statement afterward.
In his statement, Foye, 49, made
his first public comments on the case since his arrest, and gave a hint at the
particular circumstances that led to his arrest and suspension and cost him his
reputation and what had been a distinguished career in law enforcement.
He thanked the board for their
time and consideration and said he would have his day in court to explain
himself.
"I love this town and spent
a lot of good years with a lot of good, dedicated service," he said.
"I went into surgery a hero and came out a drug addict, and I wouldn't
wish that on my worst enemy."
He apologized to the selectmen
for placing them in this position.
"I love this town and
respect all of you," he said. Then he said he would work to reclaim his
reputation.
"I'm not done with this.
I'm going to help someone. Someday you'll be proud to say you know me again,
and proud that I'm from this town," he said.
When he finished, he left the
room and headed for the elevator. Clancy said he would have no further comment.
Selectmen chair William E.
Rooney said the Foye fallout since August has been the toughest issue in his
six years on the board. "You're my friend, my former neighbor. I know your
family very well. I'm not enjoying this," he said.
But the charges against Foye are
very serious, and the selectmen have a responsibility to act in the town's best
interests, he said.
Foye was charged with tampering
with evidence, theft of drugs from a dispensary and possession of a class B
substance, cocaine, according to the office of Massachusetts Attorney General
Martha Coakley.
He is scheduled to be arraigned
in Hampden Superior Court at a later date.
Foye, a 25-year police veteran,
was arrested Aug. 15 at the Ludlow police station by members of the
Massachusetts State Police assigned to the office of Hampden District Attorney
Mark G. Mastroianni.
His arrest was the result of an
internal investigation within the department after some drug evidence was found
to be missing. Ludlow police contacted the Hampden district attorney, and the
DA referred the case to the state Attorney General’s Office.
Foye was arrested after he
entered the evidence locker without authorization. At the time he was found to
be in possession of cocaine, officials said. The investigation determined that
Foye had entered the locker multiple times using a key that allowed him entry
without leaving any record of it in his name. They also found empty evidence
bags in his office.
Foye denied the charges at his
arraignment in Palmer District Court following his arrest. He was released
without bail on the condition that he surrender all firearms to the police and
that he remain drug free and submit to random drug testing.
According to court documents, a
video feed captured Foye entering the locked narcotics locker at the Ludlow
Police Station, where he appears to manipulate and open evidence bags.
Prosecutors charge that between
January and August of last year, he removed dozens of pieces of evidence
including cocaine and prescription pills. They also charge that he replaced
narcotics evidence in evidence bags with pills that did not match the
description on the corresponding state lab paperwork.
Prior to his arrest, Foye’s
career was described as exemplary. He had been promoted to the rank of
provisional lieutenant by the Ludlow Board of Selectmen just three months prior
to his arrest.
His salary in 2012 according to
town records was $104,629, including $20,987 in overtime.
Foye, a former School Committee
member, worked for nine years in the Detective Bureau. In the 1990s, he served
on an anti-gang unit.
Two years ago, Foye participated
in a forum at Ludlow High School where he warned parents and residents about
the growing danger of prescription drug abuse. He said the problem in Ludlow is
the worst he has seen it in the 25 years he has been working for the Police
Department.
