BPD officer suspended for allegedly stealing cash from lost wallet

local news

Boston police officer Rebecca Leo was reportedly off duty when she allegedly took money from a lost wallet at the Encore Boston Harbor.

A Boston police officer has been suspended without pay after she allegedly stole money from a wallet she found at the Encore Boston Harbor Casino.

Officer Rebecca Leo is suspended under a last-chance agreement from July 3 to October 1, according to a staffing order from Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox. As part of the agreement, Leo also agreed to a three-year probationary period.

Boston.com has been in touch with the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Associationthe union representing the city’s ordinary police officers for comment on the agreement.

The August 10 personnel order related to an incident from last summer; Cox wrote that Leo was off duty on August 7, 2022 when she took money from a lost wallet. An internal investigation found Leo violated the department’s disorderly conduct policy and for theft under $250, the order said.

Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio said Encore Boston Harbor security forces reported the Aug. 7 incident to the state police Gaming Enforcement Unit last summer. Casino employees reported that a customer picked up a lost wallet, took the cash and gave the empty wallet to a clerk, Procopio said.

State police did not identify the woman as no criminal case was filed against her.

According to Procopio, casino security was primarily responsible for the investigation, but later a member of the Gaming Enforcement Unit reviewed the camera footage and confirmed that the casino understood the incident.

On the same day, casino security also told the state police that the woman’s employee made a refund to the owner of the wallet on her behalf.

Encore Boston Harbor issued a trespassing order barring the woman from returning to the casino. The Gaming Enforcement Unit declined to launch its own investigation, state police said, citing the prompt refund and a precedent in casino security’s handling of similar matters.