Former Police Chief’s Secretary Acquitted of Larceny

Former Newton Police Chief Matthew Cummings’ secretary Jeanne Sweeney Mooney was acquitted of larceny charges on Tuesday, reported The Boston Globe.

A jury found Mooney not guilty of charges connected to her allegedly taking an envelope filled with cash from police permit fees as well as destroyed $1,500 in checks and a schedule of the fee payments.

“We’re very pleased with the acquittal,” said Thomas Drechsler, her attorney, to The Globe. “I always felt strongly that she was wrongly accused.”

Mooney had been on paid administrative leave since September 2011.

Mooney previously worked as secretary for Cummings, who Mayor Setti Warren dismissed from the department following an independent investigation that looked into claims Cummings verbally humiliated and kicked Mooney in 2010. 

Mooney filed a civil complaint against Cummings and the police department in May 2012 saying that the chief was inappropriate and “boorish” toward three female employees. 

Mooney alleged that the larceny charges were retaliation for civil action she filed against the department, according to a report in the Boston Globe. She had also filed a complaint with the city seeking $600,000 in damages, but that number will increase.

“It’s certainly not going to be $600,000 anymore,” said John Tocci, her civil attorney, to The Boston Globe. “That offer is off the table. They took a chance, they gambled and they lost their gamble.”

Read more of Newton Patch’s coverage about the case here.