EX-CHELMSFORD OFFICER GETS YEAR HOUSE ARREST, MUST REPAY $5G

CAMBRIDGE -- For three years, Officer Michael Horan was the "public
face" of the Chelmsford Police Department.

He worked with hundreds of children and their families as the
department's D.A.R.E. officer in the Parker and McCarthy middle schools.

A congenial and decorated cop, Horan, who joined the department in
1999, was the link between police and the Chelmsford Public Schools.

But Horan had a monkey on his back.

He had a gambling problem in which he would spend hundreds, if not
thousands of dollars each week on scratch tickets, prosecutor Lee
Hettinger said. Horan also took trips to Las Vegas casinos and
Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.

With his $39,000 salary garnished for child support, Horan fueled his
gambling problem by pocketing the cash from D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse
Resistance Education) charity events, such as flag football and
basketball, raffles and other programs from 2002 to 2003, as well as
money that had been donated to the cause.

In total, Horan stole about $5,000 from the D.A.R.E. program, money
that was supposed to be used for the children, Hettinger said.

The thefts weren't noticed until September 2003, when the Police
Department moved to a new building and some money seized as evidence
in a criminal case was missing. This triggered an investigation and
an accounting of all the cash within the department. Part of the
focus was the D.A.R.E. program.

In Middlesex Superior Court yesterday, Horan, 31, of Chelmsford,
wiped away tears as he pleaded guilty to 10 counts of embezzlement by
a municipal officer, eight counts of larceny over $250 and two counts
of larceny under $250.

Although Hettinger recommended Horan spend a year in jail plus
restitution, Judge Geraldine Hines followed defense attorney Daniel
Wilkins' request, sentencing Horan to a year of house arrest in which
he is to wear a GPS ankle bracelet.

With the bracelet, Horan, who has been fired from the Police
Department, can go to his construction job, attend church and visit
his daughter all while being tracked by the state Probation
Department. But there won't be trips to Mohegan Sun.

After his house arrest, Horan will be on probation for two years,
during which he is ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution.

The D.A.R.E. program in Chelmsford is now defunct, Hettinger said.
And the Chelmsford Police Department has suffered a black eye from
this incident.

"This is probably the saddest day of my 32-year career," Police Chief
Raymond McCusker said during yesterday's proceedings.

Due to his "selfishness and greed," Horan "stole the good reputation"
of the Chelmsford police and its officers, McCusker said.

Reached at home last night, School Committee Chairwoman Evelyn Thoren
said Horan's crime can be used as a learning tool for children.

"These individuals are not good role models for our students, but we
can use them as examples of what not to do," she said.

But Horan's stint as an officer was not all without merit.

Horan was honored with a meritorious award in 2002 for his role
during a four-hour standoff between police and Chelmsford resident
Gerald Coviello in September 2001. But with his own legal troubles
hanging over his head, Horan never testified at Coviello's trial last
month. Coviello was cleared of all the remaining charges.

McCusker said that until yesterday, Horan had "charmed or lied his
way out of things."

As he walked out of the courthouse, accompanied by a half-dozen
officers from his department, McCusker said, "It's an ugly part of
the past. It's behind us. It's time to move on."

Sun staff writer Jack Minch contributed to this report.