A suspended State trooper pleaded guilty to four felonies today, admitting that he colluded with others to provide fraudulent vehicle inspection forms in exchange for cash payments, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said today.
ROBERT A. FORREST, Jr., 62, pleaded guilty to all the charges for which he was indicted last year: bribery, making a false statement in an application for a title certificate, conspiracy to commit bribery, and conspiracy to make a false statement in an application for a title certificate.
Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Walsh of Conley’s Special Prosecutions Unit recommended that Forrest serve a two-year term in the Suffolk County House of Correction, followed by five years of probation. Suffolk Superior Court Judge Frances McIntyre sentenced him to two years suspended for a period of five years, meaning that he will not serve jail time if he remains out of trouble for five years. If he re-offends, he could be ordered to serve out the entirety of his sentence behind bars.
Forrest, along with BERNALDO HERNANDEZ (D.O.B. 5/20/62) of Lynn and KENNETH LAFAUCI (D.O.B. 4/16/57) of Topsfield, was charged amid an investigation initiated and led by Massachusetts State Police detectives.
Had the case proceeded to trial, Walsh would have introduced evidence and testimony to prove that Forrest was assigned to the Salvage Title Section of the Massachusetts State Police during the summer of 2009. His duties were to inspect badly damaged vehicles that had undergone extensive repairs, confirm that the vehicles had in fact been repaired, ensure that no stolen parts had been used in the repairs, and issue the paperwork that allows such vehicles to return to the road.
During the same time period, the evidence would have shown, Lafauci was the owner of Brother’s Auto Body in Revere and Hernandez was an associate who worked nearby. Brother’s Auto Body is not a designated salvage inspection location, and both men are alleged to have procured Forrest’s approval for fraudulent inspection paperwork in exchange for cash payments.
Lafauci and Hernandez paid Forrest to sign and approve the mandatory Salvage Inspection Forms for salvaged vehicles that may or may not have been brought to the garage. Forrest signed off on the paperwork without performing the inspection. Because the vehicles went uninspected, they could be released to the road with serious – and possibly dangerous – defects.
The indictments arise out of a sting operation conducted by State Police investigators on June 15, 2009. State Police obtained paperwork for a motor vehicle that did not exist and brought that paperwork with $1000 in cash to Brother’s Auto Body. They presented the cash and paperwork to Hernandez, who allegedly took $500 for himself. Hernandez allegedly left the paperwork and remaining cash for Lafauci, who in turn allegedly took $450 for himself and paid Forrest $50 to sign the Salvage Inspection Form.
The vehicle in question was never brought to Brother’s Auto Body and Forrest could not have inspected it. State Police investigators subsequently recovered a $50 bill from Forrest and observed incoming calls from Lafauci in his cell phone log. He was immediately relieved from duty and has been suspended since that time.
Forrest was represented by attorney Daniel Moynihan. The case against Lafauci will return to Suffolk Superior Court later this year; Hernandez is currently a fugitive from the charges against him.
