"Braintree’s
deputy police chief has been placed on administrative leave in the wake
of the evidence room scandal at the department. Sources tell 5
Investigates that Deputy Chief Wayne Foster was put on paid
administrative leave effective Monday. 5 Investigates reported
last week that, according to sources, members of the Braintree Police
Department had suggested there were problems with the evidence and that
the officer in charge, Susan Zopatti, was disoriented at work and needed
help. Zopatti joined the Braintree Police Department in 1995 and worked patrol until becoming the evidence officer in 2013. A
recent audit of the department concentrated on the years Zopatti was in
charge of the evidence room and discovered the missing money, firearms
and seized drugs. That tainted and missing evidence has already led to
criminal charges being dropped in 41 Braintree cases.........David Hinds, the lawyer representing Deputy
Chief Foster told 5 Investigates, “The mayor is as culpable as the chief
(Russell Jenkins) for not properly supervising the officer in charge of
the evidence room.” He said it was actually Foster who went to the
chief to say the evidence officer should be removed. Hinds called the
town’s action “totally inappropriate.” Officer Zopatti took her own life within a week of meeting with the auditor in May.........The attorney general is investigating and sources tell us more changes within the department may be on the way.""
http://www.wcvb.com/news/5-investigates-braintree-deputy-police-chief-placed-on-leave-over-evidence-scandal/41838736