Local News
Trooper Joseph Franklin faces two felony charges. He pleaded not guilty at an arraignment last month.
John Tlumacki / The Boston Globe, File
A Massachusetts State Police trooper is facing felony charges related to the alleged theft of a Bobcat bucket loader.
Trooper Joseph Franklin’s law enforcement certification was suspended last month by the state’s police oversight agency. The POST Commission noted evidence that Franklin “engaged or may have engaged in criminal conduct” in its suspension order dated July 23. Franklin can request a hearing to challenge the suspension order.
Spokespeople for the State Police did not respond to a request for comment but confirmed to The Boston Globe that Franklin was suspended with pay on July 9.
Franklin was charged with committing a larceny worth more than $1,200 and with intimidating a witness, juror, police officer, or court official. Both are felony offenses. He was arraigned July 17 in Palmer District Court and pleaded not guilty to both charges. Franklin was released on personal recognizance and is set to appear in court again later this week.
A report from the Palmer Police Department contains details about the investigation into Franklin, which stemmed from a dispute over tree removal work at his property.
Franklin contacted a tree removal company operated by one of his friends and another man in January, in order to remove about 100 trees from his property. Weather delayed the work, which commenced in March and ended in April, one of the contractors told a Palmer police officer, according to the report.
The Bobcat was left at Franklin’s property but was nowhere to be found when the contractor came looking for it. He was later contacted by his business partner, Franklin’s longtime friend, demanding that he pay $5,000 in order to get the Bobcat back, according to the report.
The contractor reported the Bobcat as being stolen to Falmouth police in May. The same day, Franklin contacted Palmer police and said that he had hired the duo for tree removal services but that they had not completed the work that was agreed upon, according to the report. Franklin said that the Bobcat was not on his property.
Later in May, Franklin reached out again to Palmer police. Franklin told Palmer police that his “place of employment” had told him about the Bobcat being reported as stolen. Franklin maintained that the contractor had not completed the work and that he was in the process of suing the contractor. Franklin said that his attorney had told him to hold on to the Bobcat as “collateral,” per the report.
Palmer police responded to Franklin’s property in an attempt to recover the machine but could not make contact with Franklin. They found that the windows of the garage were covered with various materials. The officers later got in touch with Franklin, who repeated the claims about being told to hold on to the Bobcat as collateral.
“I explained to Franklin that he could not hold onto the property without a court order and that doing so would be considered larceny of the property. Franklin should know the above information and have a basic understanding of the larceny laws as he graduated from the Massachusetts State Police Academy,” Sgt. Jeremy Haley of the Palmer Police Department wrote in his report.
Franklin said that he was at work but agreed to meet Haley at his property. He requested that officers “not activate their body cameras as it would look bad for him to be removing the Bobcat in uniform,” per Haley’s report. Haley told Franklin that this would not be possible. Palmer police expected Franklin to arrive in a State Police cruiser, but they did not see one. The Bobcat was ultimately recovered, according to the report.
Ross Cristantiello
Ross Cristantiello, a general assignment news reporter for Boston.com since 2022, covers local politics, crime, the environment, and more.
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