State Trooper Leigha Genduso Gets Immunity For Helping Boyfriend Drug Traffic - Earning The Hate

https://www.masslive.com/news/2018/08/state_police_trooper_leigha_ge.html

State Police Trooper Leigha Genduso has resigned after an internal affairs investigation found that she did not disclose her past involvement with a drug dealing operation during her hiring process.

Genduso was issued a dishonorable discharge, which she told The Boston Globe she will appeal. Her attorney also told the newspaper that the internal investigation was "a coverup from day one."

State Police said in a statement that Genduso provided untruthful information to the department during her hiring process, including her connection to and participation in drug dealing, as well as her own drug use. As a result, State Police began the termination process against Genduso.

In her early 20s, Genduso was dating Sean Bucci, an aspiring DJ funding his hobby through drug dealing.

The two lived together in a house Bucci owned in North Reading, a home that was eventually forfeited to the government following a conviction on drug trafficking charges.

After the couple was arrested, Genduso decided to testify against Bucci. On the witness stand, Genduso testified that she help deal marijuana - gift-wrapping packages for distribution - smoked pot then on a near daily basis and helped Bucci launder money.

Genduso was granted immunity in exchange for her testimony, which led to a 10-year sentence for Bucci.

Within a year of the trial, Genduso found work as a civilian dispatcher. She applied for the Massachusetts State Police in 2012 - five years following her testimony - and in 2014, she became a trooper.

At the time of her hiring, she was in a serious relationship with Daniel Risteen, a then-major with the State Police. Genduso told the Globe they broke up in October, months before Risteen announced his sudden retirement in February - as Genduso was being placed on unpaid leave.

The Globe reported that the State Police internal affairs investigation only made a single reference to Risteen, described as a close friend of Lt. Col. Francis Hughes -- a member of the three-person review board that approved Genduso's background check.

The newspaper also reported that State Police never asked the North Reading Police Department about calls or reports involving Genduso's former address, which was cited on her application.

Genduso's background first came under scrutiny after a post on the blog Turtleboy Sports called attention to it. She had been on unpaid suspension since February.

State Police said that under the leadership of Col. Kerry Gilpin, the department recently created a new checklist for the background check process, and broadened the questionnaire for recruit candidates to include questions about involvement in any criminal investigation, even if the candidate was not charged with a crime.

State Police has also held initial discussions with federal law enforcement partners about searching their investigative records for any reference to State Police recruit candidates.