Massachusetts State Police spent $217,000 on luxury hotel stays, international flights, and more
Mass State Police shelled out more than $200,000 on stays at 4- and 5-star hotels from Aruba to Florida, along with international flights and other expenses during the last fiscal year.
The Herald is sifting through state agencies’ taxpayer-funded credit card expenditures — finding that Mass State Police racked up $217,957 in procurement card (P-card) expenses in fiscal year 2025.
That includes stays at Aruba’s Manchebo Beach Resort & Spa for a total of $6,050, and Aruba’s Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort for a total of $4,344. MSP also had a $1,320 bill for a rental car in Aruba.
Some of the other biggest hotel bills from the last year were at Champlin’s Hotel, Marina & Resort in Rhode Island for a total of $9,179; Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile for a total of $8,475; and Harborside Inn on Martha’s Vineyard for a total of $5,062.
Mass State Police, which has been emphasizing the importance of transparency as the embattled agency tries to restore trust following a string of scandals, will not provide details on these expenditures and the purpose for these pricey trips.
“We do not have a comment to provide on these State Police operational matters,” a Mass State Police spokesperson said in a statement.
Recently, the Herald shed light on the P-card bills for Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office and Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins, who was indicted last week on federal charges.
Some of the MSP charges are related to the governor’s executive protection, but not all of them.
“The Massachusetts State Police takes seriously our solemn obligation to keep elected officials safe during their tenures in office,” the MSP spokesperson said. “Constitutional Officers in Massachusetts and across the country have long had Executive Protection that travels with them.
“This is essential for ensuring the safety and security of our state’s top leaders, while also ensuring the safety of the general public,” the spokesperson added. “This security is all the more important in this moment when political violence is on the rise, with several recent and tragic attacks on elected officials. Due to operational concerns, we do not comment on resource allocations of protective details.”
The timing of Gov. Maura Healey’s office purchasing hotel stays in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere line up with some of MSP’s fancy hotel expenditures.
Some of the Mass State Police charges are related to Gov. Maura Healey’s executive protection, but not all of them. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
That includes MSP’s expenses at the Mayflower Hotel in D.C., which added up to $4,145. The governor’s office spent $3,321 at the Mayflower Hotel during the same time period.
Another MSP-governor’s office overlap included the Grand Hyatt in D.C. — for a total of $4,316 for MSP. The governor’s office spent $1,590 for that trip.
“Taxpayers are footing the bill for high-end travel of our elected officials and their security details,” said Paul Craney, executive director for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. “The more information that becomes public about these junkets, the more they look like luxury vacations on the taxpayer’s dime.
“If our elected officials want to be pampered while they travel with their State Police detail, they should pay for these luxury travel trips out of their own pocket like the rest of us taxpayers do,” he added. “This is not a good use of tax dollars and the State Police shouldn’t be used in this manner.”
State Police and the governor’s office also had P-card charges at the Westin Book Cadillac in Detroit. MSP’s bill for that hotel stay was $2,184, and the governor’s office spent $1,765.
Another MSP-governor’s office overlap included the Grand America Hotel in Utah — for a total of $2,671 for MSP. The governor’s office spent $1,184 for that trip.
Other hotels that troopers stayed at included the: Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk ($3,700), InterContinental The Willard in D.C. ($2,769), Hilton Beverly Hills in California ($2,751), Fairmont Royal York in Toronto ($2,420), Mountain Shadows Resort in Arizona ($2,375), Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa in Florida ($2,301), Limelight Hotel in Colorado ($1,979), and the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia ($1,105).
When the Herald reported on AG Andrea Campbell’s P-card expenses, the AG’s office said Campbell traveled with a trooper and one of her staff members to a conference and related events in Paris and Normandy, hosted by the National Association of Attorneys General and the Attorney General Alliance.
The MSP flight expenses for that European trip totaled $4,164.
MSP also last year spent $2,713 for plane tickets on the international Qatar Airways.
One expenditure that had an explanation was a $3,677 bill on Nantucket last November — for MSP to provide meals to members supporting the presidential visit to the island.
Meanwhile, Mass State Police recently launched its “Excellence Initiative” as it stresses the importance of transparency.
One of MSP’s goals is to “Deepen Community Connection and Expand Public Outreach. This goal underscores the Department’s commitment to engage communities through transparent communication,” MSP wrote.
State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble recently launched the “Excellence Initiative” for the embattled state agency. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
The agency needs to be more forthcoming and give detailed answers on expenditures, Craney told the Herald.
“It’s raising more questions than answers, bringing a lot of doubts to taxpayers about whether their money is being used correctly,” he said.
“It’s just adding to the growing doubt about whether these P-cards are being properly used,” Craney added. “State Police can do a lot more to calm any fears and alleviate any doubts that taxpayers would have.”
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The Herald reached out to each of the state’s constitutional officers about these expenditures, asking if they were involved in any of the expenses.
The governor’s office referred the Herald to MSP for comment.
The spokesperson for Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin wrote, “The Secretary doesn’t have a State Police detail, so none of these travel expenses would involve him… the Secretary doesn’t have (and never has had) a trooper assigned to him, even when he’s been Acting Governor.”
The spokesperson for Treasurer Deborah Goldberg wrote, “None of these expenditures apply to the Treasurer’s office.”
The spokesperson for Auditor Diana DiZoglio wrote, “The Office of the State Auditor was not involved in these expenditures.”
