Local News

BPD officer suspended for allegedly taking cash from lost wallet at Encore

Boston police officer Rebecca Leo was off duty when she allegedly took money from a lost wallet at Encore Boston Harbor, according to reports.

August 17, 2023

1 minute to read

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

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

Boston.com has reached out to the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, the union that represents the city’s rank-and-file police officers, for comment on the settlement.

The Aug. 10 personnel order concerned an incident from last summer; Cox wrote that Leo was off duty when she took money from a lost wallet on Aug. 7, 2022. An internal affairs investigation determined that Leo had violated department policies for conduct unbecoming and for larceny under $250, according to the order.

Massachusetts State Police spokesperson David Procopio said Encore Boston Harbor security flagged the Aug. 7 incident to the state police Gaming Enforcement Unit last summer. Casino staff reported that a female patron had picked up a lost wallet, taken the cash inside, and handed the empty wallet over to an employee, Procopio said.

State police did not identify the woman, as she was not criminally charged.

While casino security primarily handled the investigation, a member of the Gaming Enforcement Unit later reviewed camera footage and confirmed the casino’s understanding of the incident, according to Procopio.

That same day, casino security also told state police that the woman’s associate had made restitution to the wallet owner on her behalf.

Encore Boston Harbor issued a trespass order prohibiting the woman from returning to the casino. The Gaming Enforcement Unit declined to pursue an investigation of its own, state police said, citing the prompt restitution and a precedent of casino security handling similar matters.