Hank Brennan earned $566,000 for his work as special prosecutor in the second Karen Read murder trial, records show.

Brennan, a longtime defense attorney famous for representing Whitey Bulger in his federal trial, was hired by Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey to lead the prosecution in Read’s second trial on charges including second-degree murder in the Jan. 29, 2022, death of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, her boyfriend at the time.

That trial ended last month with Read’s acquittal on her indicted charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. Jurors did convict her of a lesser charge: drunken driving.

Through his law firm, Brennan & Associates, Brennan submitted seven invoices covering his work from Sept. 17, 2024, through the trial’s end on June 18, 2025. The invoices total $566,000 for 2,264 billable hours.

Brennan was officially appointed as a special assistant district attorney for the Read case on Sept. 23, 2024, according to a contract inked that day by Brennan and Norfolk First Assistant DA Margaret Krippendorf.

That agreement set his hourly rate at $250 and had capped compensation at $75,000 — a figure that Brennan blew past by more than $45,000 by his second invoice.

The invoices were released as part of the Norfolk DA’s initial response to a public record request by the Herald. Assistant District Attorney Brandon Hunt, who is in charge of such requests, says that more data will be delivered on a rolling basis.

The Brennan invoices break down this way:

– First invoice (Sept. 17 – Oct. 31, 2024): 283.8 hours, totaling $70,950

– Second invoice (November 2024): 201.3 hours, totaling $50,325

– Third invoice (Dec 1 – Dec. 29, 2024): 210.9 hours, totaling $52,725

– Fourth invoice (Dec. 30 – Jan. 10): 121.8 hours, totaling $30,450

– Fifth invoice (Jan. 11-Jan. 25, 2025): 114.7 hours, totaling $28,675

– Sixth invoice (Jan. 26-March 31, 2025): 653.5 hours, totaling $163,375

– Seventh invoice (April 1-June 18, 2025): 678 hours, totaling $169,500

This is a developing story.

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Read the invoices

Read weeps as the final verdict of not guilty of second-degree murder is read in Norfolk Superior Court, Wednesday, in Dedham. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool)