Consortium of 49 Massachusetts Law Enforcement Agencies to Pay U.S. $200,000 For...

Consortium of 49 Massachusetts Law Enforcement Agencies to Pay U.S. $200,000
For Alleged False Claims

WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The North Eastern
Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC) will pay the United States
$200,000 to settle allegations that it made false claims related to the use of
Justice Department grant funds. Based in Boston, NEMLEC is a non-profit
corporation and a law enforcement council. It is comprised of a consortium of
47 police departments in Middlesex and Essex Counties, as well as two county
sheriff's departments.

The settlement relates to NEMLEC's 2003 certifications that it used
the grant funds from the Department of Justice for approved purposes. The
Justice Department awarded these funds to NEMLEC in 2001 and 2002 for the
"School Threat Assessment and Response System" (STARS) program.

According to the consortium's Web site, NEMLEC created and implemented
STARS in 1999 to assist the region's over 500 schools in enhancing school
safety, preventing threats and violence in schools, and ensuring that the
schools were prepared to identify, assess, and respond to threats and
emergencies. An investigation by the Justice Department's Office of the
Inspector General concluded that NEMLEC had not properly accounted for several
hundred thousand dollars of grant funds.

"The Civil Division plays a critical role in protecting taxpayer
funds," said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division.
"With the Justice Department making significant grants to local law
enforcement agencies, we will continue to ensure that all of the funds are
spent only on the projects for which they were intended."

The Justice Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention provided the funds at issue to NEMLEC through the Edward Byrne
Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Grant Program. The Byrne
Formula Grant Program is a partnership among federal, state, and local
governments to create safer communities.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Justice, +1-202-514-2007, TDD: +1-202-514-1888