Boston-area lobbyist, ex-State Police union chief convicted of racketeering, fraud

Dana A. Pullman, 60, of Worcester, and Anne M. Lynch, 71, of Hull, were convicted after 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 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.

Pullman and Lynch were arrested and charged in August 2019 and indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2019.

The union, the State Police Association of Massachusetts, represents more than 1,500 state troopers and sergeants.

Pullman, who was a state trooper from 1987 to 2018, was the union president from 2012 until his resignation on Sept. 28, 2018. Lynch's lobbying firm represented the union during the same time period in exchange for monthly retainer payments.

From at least 2012 until Pullman resigned as the union president, Pullman and Lynch turned the union into a racketeering enterprise, using Pullman's position and power to defraud union members, the state and vendors looking to do business with State Police, said U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins and Joseph Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston office.

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They said Lynch paid Pullman a $20,000 kickback in connection with a settlement agreement between the union and the state. Pullman and Lynch defrauded two different companies that sought to do business with the State Police 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 in a manner designed to avoid reporting and paying taxes on that income to the IRS. Pullman and Lynch tried to obstruct the grand jury's investigation by manipulating subpoenaed records, and Lynch tried to obstruct the grand jury's investigation by lying to investigators, authorities said.

Pullman embezzled union money by using a union debit card to pay for thousands of dollars of meals and travel for a person with whom he was having a romantic relationship, authorities said.

U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock scheduled sentencing for March 8, 2023.

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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 a 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 a fine of $100,000.