Boston Cop Falls from the Top

According to prosecutors, Eliezer Gonzalez, a detective in Boston who has been known as a “top cop” for his great police work, has acknowledged in federal court that he defrauded the city and a private insurer in a disability scam by faking his injuries. He reportedly collected about $176,600 in injury pay and supplemental insurance benefits. It sounds like he should have been given the Best Actor award instead.

According to The Boston Globe, prosecutors have said they have photographic evidence which shows Gonzalez walking and acting normally, then showing up at medical appointments using a cane and pretending he could not walk or speak without assistance. Apparently, something about the doctors’ office makes his injuries very noticeable. Outside of that office however, it seems that Gonzalez would frequent the L Street Bath House, go salsa dancing, and travel abroad, all without difficulty.

“Gonzalez greatly exaggerated and falsified both his injuries and ongoing physical issues,’’ prosecutors said in a statement. “He was surveilled and videotaped feigning injuries on or near the same days that he was recorded acting injury-free.’’

None of the prosecutors or Gonzalez’s lawyer would comment on whether he was offered an incentive to plead guilty.

“We just felt it was in his best interests to plead guilty today,’’ said Edward J. McNelley, a Boston lawyer representing Gonzalez. “Weighing all the facts and circumstances, we felt this was in his best interests.’’

According to police records, after saying he suffered a back injury in September 2007 from a fall onto a cement floor while making an arrest, Gonzalez went on leave. He later said the injuries included orthopedic issues and post-traumatic stress, for which he began receiving tax-free injury pay and filed for accidental disability retirement. He also alleged psychological impairments, such as a fear of crowds and cars.

“At his Boston Police Department medical appointments, Gonzalez fraudulently acted both physically and mentally impaired, often requiring his associates to speak to the medical staff on his behalf,’’ prosecutors wrote in the indictment against him.

In May 2008, Gonzalez supposedly showed up for a doctor’s appointment using a cane and looking rather unwell. Several days later, he traveled to Vietnam. That’s a pretty speedy recovery.

In the indictment, prosecutors said that while in Vietnam Gonzalez socialized with friends “and participated in various strenuous tourist activities in an unimpaired fashion and without the aid of a cane and included videotaping himself riding on the back of a moped weaving through a crowded street.” How they obtained a copy of this footage is unclear.

Back in his prime, Gonzalez was awarded the Massachusetts Top Cop award by the National Association of Police Organizations. He was chosen for this award after he arrested the alleged abductor of a missing 19-day-old infant. Before joining the force, he also served for six years in the US Marine Corps.

According to Globe reports, Gonzalez is the former president of the Massachusetts chapter of the National Latino Peace Officers Association. The Boston Police Department investigated how that organization collected money from the public in 1993. And though he was never charged or disciplined in the matter, the local chapter disbanded two years later.

Internal affairs reports, however, show that Gonzalez was disciplined repeatedly by the department during his 22 years on the force.

He was suspended for five days in 1996 after allegedly driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle. Six years later he was suspended for 60 days after being accused of leaving his district without permission and misusing his authority. For the same instance, he was also reprimanded for improperly documenting evidence and lying to his superiors.

Gonzalez was suspended again in 2004 for three days for leaving his area of duty without notifying superiors. A year later, he was accused of being on duty and inappropriately confronting an employee at an East Boston restaurant about a personal issue.

The next year, in 2006, he was suspended for 90 days and required to complete a certified batterer’s program after he was accused of abusing his wife and trying to hide his behavior. Later that year, he was accused of misplacing his badge and duplicating it without informing his superiors.

Police officials declined comment, but after Gonzalez’s arraignment last year, Commissioner Edward F. Davis said the department would not tolerate such abuse of the system. “The Boston Police Department will continue to take an aggressive stance on any individual who takes advantage of a law intended to protect officers who are legitimately injured on the job,’’ he said. “We . . . will not tolerate violations of the public’s trust.’’

Gonzalez is due to be sentenced on June 3^rd.