Massachusetts elected official pays $8,000 fine after he got his home’s stairs ‘done for free’
Massachusetts
Mass. man appears in court for allegedly flying drone near Boston Marathon finish line
A 30-year-old Massachusetts man was arraigned in federal court Monday for allegedly flying a drone near the finish line at this year’s Boston Marathon.
The April 2024 drone flight prompted law enforcement and bomb technicians to seize the drone mid-air, land it and evaluate its threat to the public.
The U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts announced Monday that Allan Nip, of Boston, had been charged with unlawfully flying a drone in restricted National Defense Airspace. A deferred prosecution agreement filed along with the charging document reflects that Nip agreed to pay a $5,000 criminal fine and to forfeit his drone, valued at approximately $4,000. The U.S. also filed a civil forfeiture complaint in connection with this matter to forfeit the drone and its related controller.
According to court filings, Nip was flying his drone within a few blocks of the Boston Marathon finish line approximately 20 minutes before the professional men in the wheelchair division were finishing the race.The drone was detected by federal law enforcement monitoring the airspace near the finish line, was intercepted mid-flight, and was landed in a secure location in Back Bay, prosecutors said. Once the drone was taken down and evaluated by bomb technicians, law enforcement responded to Nip’s apartment on West Springfield Street in Boston, where he allegedly admitted to flying the drone that morning.
The controller on Nip’s drone, as with most drone controllers, allegedly provided warnings that day that he was flying in a restricted zone, according to Monday’s Department of Justice press release. Additionally, the Federal Aviation Administration had sent out notices warning anyone seeking to fly any type of aircraft (including drones) not to fly near the start or finish lines of the Boston Marathon on race day, without a special permit, which are not granted for amateur drone operators.
The charge of operating a drone in restricted National Defense Airspace carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison, one year of supervised release and a $100,000 fine.
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Sgt. Bukhenik disciplined for failing to reprimand Proctor over behavior in Read case
The Massachusetts State Police sergeant responsible for overseeing embattled Trooper Michael Proctor is facing discipline for his failure to reprimand his subordinate for inappropriate text messages sent during the Karen Read investigation.
Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik will forfeit five vacation days for his failure to “properly supervise and/or counsel a subordinate for sending inappropriate correspondence regarding an ongoing investigation,” according to the disciplinary order.
This all stems from behavior revealed during Proctor’s testimony during Read’s high-profile murder trial earlier this year. Read is accused of hitting and killing her Boston Police officer boyfriend John O’Keefe in January 2022. Her defense team claims she was the victim of a police coverup.
In what became a key point of contention in the trial, Proctor acknowledged sending family members, friends and fellow members of the state police, including supervisors, what he said were “unprofessional and regrettable” texts about Read.
Reading out loud on the witness stand, he admitted calling Read “a whack job … c***” while he was investigating her.
When a friend said they were “sure the owner of the house will receive some s***,” Proctor replied, “Nope, homeowner is a Boston cop, too.”
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Proctor texted his sister, referring to Read, “Hopefully she kills herself.”
In court, Proctor testified that he sent a text while going through Read’s phone to co-workers, saying he had found “no nudes so far.” Bukhenik was among the troopers on that text chain.
A judge declared a mistrial in the Read case in July, but the prosecution has vowed to retry the case. With Proctor’s credibility now questioned, the fallout could affect not just Read’s case but other open investigations. Proctor was also a lead investigator in other high-profile cases, including the death of Ana Walshe, the Cohasset mother whose husband is accused of killing her and then hiding her dismembered body. With some cases yet to go to trial, impacts are possible on a significant list of cases.
Proctor remains under investigation and suspended without pay from the Massachusetts State Police.
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