Captain accused of theft says Boston Harbor pilots violated safety rules, drank on the job
The pilots group says the captain used its credit cards for personal expenses ranging from gas for his personal car to strip clubs.
The former president of the Boston Harbor Pilots Association, who is under investigation for allegedly redirecting tens of thousands of dollars to his own pocket from the group, says other pilots violated safety regulations and drank alcohol while on call, The Boston Globe reports.
The association’s pilots are responsible for guiding foreign vessels through the harbor’s shoals and currents. The group says Gregg Farmer, who served as the association’s president from 2002 to 2011, used its credit cards for personal expenses ranging from gas for his personal car to strip clubs and filed fake expense reports to cover the improperly spent funds.
In-turn, the Globe reports that Farmer, who is being investigated by Suffolk County prosecutors, says the other pilots are attempting to discredit him to get a greater share of fees paid to the association. He alleges one pilot routinely drank hard alcohol while waiting for assignments while another used a phone to bid on an online auction while steering a ship through “one of the most challenging channels” in the area, according to the Globe.
“In regards to Gentleman’s clubs, these outings were not for the personal benefit of Captain Farmer and instead these outings were for the benefit of the organization as a whole . . . during very strenuous times in the port,” Farmer’s attorney, Thomas Fallon wrote, told the Globe.
Read the full Globe report here.
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