# Retired public workers smiling all the way to the bank



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*Still on sheriff's payroll*

*By Laurel J. Sweet*
Thursday, March 5, 2009









Photo by Matthew West 
CAN-DO ATTITUDE: Raymond Armstead, a retired police officer, greets visitors at the Essex County Correctional Facility in Middleton, where he collects $14,040 a year for 18 hours a week.

The Essex jail system has become a retirement playpen for ex-lawmen collecting thousands in state dollars on top of plum pensions for second careers as greeters, tour guides and urine jockeys, a Herald review shows.
Several of Sheriff Frank G. Cousins Jr.'s 37 part-timers, in addition to giving generously to his war chest, are retired former employees, 
including:

*•* Thomas Goff, 65. Goff hit mandatory retirement age in January as jail superintendent - Cousins' second in command - with a $105,731 state pension. Goff then returned to work on a six-month, $14,500 contract as a consultant on the prisoner re-entry program. Since 2005, Goff has donated $1,825 to Cousins, a Republican and sheriff since 1996, campaign finance records show.

*•* Kenneth Gagnon, 61, retired in 2002 as an assistant deputy superintendent with a $48,283 state pension. He now gets $13,844 to transport hundreds of urine samples collected from probationers and parolees to the department's lab 16 hours a week. Gagnon gave Cousins $175 in 2007, and his wife, Nina, has donated $1,175 since 2005.

*•* S. Michael Backry Sr., 66, was a major for the sheriff's office until he retired in 2003. In addition to his annual $37,650 state pension, he is paid $19,996 to give guided tours of the Essex County Correctional Facility in Middleton to school children and civic groups. Since 2005, Backry has donated $775 to Cousins.

Massachusetts allows state, county and municipal pensioners to continue working in the public sector up to 960 hours a year, or to make up the difference between their pension and the current salary of the position they left.

Even so, an astonished Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said of Cousins' hirings, "It may be perfectly legal, but it's the kind of double dipping that's offensive to taxpayers."

*•* Thomas Lowry, 69, retired in 2003 as a Lynn building inspector with a $37,992 pension. He now works for Cousins as a lobby officer, greeting and assisting inmates' families and friends 20 hours a week for $14,560 per year. Since 2006, Lowry has given Cousins $575.

It's not just the long arms of the law reaching for another taxpayer-funded check. Until recently, Jack Christian, 64, was the sheriff's department's plumber. Cousins now pays him $13.94 an hour to monitor a different kind of plumbing, collecting urine samples.

The part-timers do not receive benefits, but all told, they are costing the state more than $600,000 in salaries.

Cousins said he spent the past month trimming $1.2 million from his budget by trimming six days' pay from command staff salaries - including his own - and moving correctional officers from a four-days-on, two-days-off rotation to a five-and-two schedule.

"That's been accomplished by not laying off anyone," Cousins stressed. "A lot of people aren't happy about it, but a lot of people are happy because they're still working."

In addition to not filling positions like Goff's, Cousins said his longtime assistant, Barbara Kowalski, voluntarily gave up her $64,384 job so no one else would be put on the street.

Still, Jerry Enos, president of the Essex County Correctional Officers Association, said, "We have objected to all payments to retirees and vendors at a time when our members are being forced to work an extra 17 days without payment and they're having their personal lives completely disrupted."

Said Cousins: "This is ragtime. I know where the complaints are coming from and I'm not going to let a few ignorant, uneducated, rogue officers dictate public policy."

Jail Time:

+ *Your tax dollars at work:* Complete Essex Jail Payroll
+ Part-time pay brightens retirees' golden years
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http://bostonherald.com/news/region..._the_bank_as____:_Still_on_sheriff_s_payroll/

Part-time pay brightens retirees' golden years

*By Laurel J. Sweet 
*Thursday, March 5, 2009










Sheriff Frank Cousins Jr.

Here are just some of the public employee pensioners enjoying truly golden years thanks to part-time odd jobs they've scored at the state-funded Essex Sheriff's Department:

*•* James Carney, 59, retired in 2007 as chief of police in Marblehead with a $76,316 pension from the town. For an additional $17,780 from the state, he helps out 16 hours a week in Cousins' Information Technology Department, assisting outside agencies with such tools as facial recognition.

*•* Robert Marshall, 57, retired from the jail in August a deputy sheriff and shift commander with a $56,230 state pension, but he's already back to work 25 hours a week at $18,122 a year chauffeuring inmates to department work assignments. Since 2005, Marshall has donated $765 to Cousins.

*•* Raymond Armstead, 67, retired from the *Boston Police* Department in 2003 with a $47,157 pension. He works as a lobby officer for Cousins 18 hours a week for $14,040. Since 2005, Armstead has donated $800 to Cousins.

*•* Paul Armitage, 62, retired in 2007 as chief of police in Middleton. He now has a $20,002 contract to work 18 hours a week as an internal affairs investigator. Since 2005, Armitage has donated $550 to Cousins. The Essex Regional Retirement Board would not provide his pension yesterday.

*•* Everett Rowe, 75, was the jail's supervisor of maintenance until he retired in 2000 with a $17,495 a year state pension. He's back on Cousins' payroll as a lobby officer, receiving $15,999 a year for 16 hours of work each week. Since 2005, Rowe has donated $1,675 to Cousins.

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http://bostonherald.com/news/region...rt-time_pay_brightens_retirees__golden_years/


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## exscrew (Nov 12, 2007)

The only ignorant uneducated rouge here is Frank Cousins. Cops and firefighters being laid off all over the place and he has all these hacks who, take my word for it Do absolutly nothing. The lobby officer was at one time staffed by a uniformed officer who rotated to the outer perimiter every few hours. These guys have little or no job description just like half of his managers. Oh by the way he just gave them a pay upgrade too. Cousins is a total Ahole


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## SgtAndySipowicz (Mar 17, 2008)

I understand that there are abuses, however...... the majority of the public and media would love to see retired Cops panhandling on the Boston common. We (Police Officers) are hated by many. People blame us for everything, because today's society (it will only get worse under the Gov Patrick and Pres Obamas) doesn't take personal responsibility for anything anymore. I don't feel guilty at all for what I make as a Police Officer. The media and those others who hate us can kiss my blue ass.....


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## rg1283 (Sep 14, 2005)

I don't see the big fucking deal about a retired police officer working a greeting detail at the the jail for about $15K a year. He is not greeting, everyone knows a greeter is a security guard, extra eyes and ears.

Now if he was getting $150K that would be different.

I think the news should highlight the struggle of nursing students who we all know make so much money. For me to go to a good nursing school I will have to quit my job in Sept. 09

I work part-time at a psych hospital, as my real job.

I then work a shitload of hours in retail on weekends.

I shouldn't be able to make barely 20K a year.

I will have to move back in with my parents to make this work.

Police officers going through the academy in a lot of cases have to do something similar.

Police Officers also put their lives on the line so assholes can live in relative safety so they can bitch about how Police Officers earn to much.

Another thing that pisses me off is how the same people who piss on police officers piss on the soldiers. Up yours. Go back to the ivory tower, I hope you fall and the laid off firefighters and police officers don't arrive so we could preserve all of the WIC cards and Mass Health Benefits for the dunk depressed pregnant assholes in MA.


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## Niteowl (Nov 6, 2004)

The article should highlite the fact that the dept. had to cut $1.2M from its budget for the remainder of the fiscal year. That those vendors (37 of them) get paid a total just short of $600,000. Instead of cutting the fat he gives raises to his to admin, drops the work week to 32 hrs. for the clerks and then violates the line staffs contract by forcing them from their 4-2 schedule to a 5-2 schedule.
As a side note the sheriff call his line staff ignorant and uneducated. Does he forget that he requires people to either have a) college degree b) 1 year in state correctional service c) 2 years out of state correctional service or d) be a VET. Great thing to say about educated, dedicated staff or the hire boards of other agencies. Cousins must be the greatest thing in his own eyes.


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