ANOTHER SHAKEDOWN ATTEMPT

Former Boston police detectives Walter Robinson and Kenneth Acerra received
identical sentences this week of three years' imprisonment and orders to
pay $100,000 in restitution for a five-year crime spree that included civil
rights violations, tax fraud, and thefts from drug dealers and others.
Robinson, however, won the first round of ''beat the clock'' regarding his
pension benefits.

Robinson quit the force in February 1996, just one day before a Globe
Spotlight series revealed his dirty dealings and well before his indictment
in March 1997. Although his claim for a disability pension was denied, the
disgraced detective has been receiving a regular monthly retirement
allowance of $1,888.25 since January 1998. He may even be eligible to
receive the pension while in prison.

Acerra has an application for disability retirement pending with the Boston
Retirement Board. Neither Robinson nor Acerra deserves a single penny more
of city funds. State law governing public officials mandates forfeiture of
pension if an official is convicted of a criminal offense involving
''violation of the laws applicable to his office or position.'' Last year,
for example, former Boston police detective John Swirbalus was denied his
pension for obstructing justice.

Swirbalus, who was off duty at the time of the offense, had concocted a
strange scheme, complete with a phony victim, to trick an assistant
district attorney into dropping assault charges against the detective's
friend.

That was criminal and foolish but pales in comparison to the prolonged
assault by Robinson and Acerra on the Boston Police Department's integrity,
including lying to obtain search warrants and stealing from crime scenes.

Police Commissioner Paul Evans has stated that the conviction ''closes a
tragic chapter in our history.'' But the book remains open until Evans
succeeds in persuading the Boston Retirement Board to block the retirement
allowances for these corrupt former detectives.

Checked-by: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)