A modern-day Serpico

(and that's a good thing)

Stoughton, Massachusetts Police Detective Supervisor Robert Welch was awarded $165,000 and his job back after a jury found that he was unfairly demoted from his position by an acting police chief in retaliation for investigating a previous chief as well as a fellow officer for corruption, a task that Welch was assigned to do by a special prosecutor.

Here's what happened to the officer he was investigating:

"In 2007, [former Sergeant David] Cohen was convicted of witness intimidation, attempted extortion, and filing a false report after a Canton businessman Timothy Hills filed a complaint against him. He is serving a three-year prison sentence."

As well as the former chief whom Acting Chief Christopher Ciampa was so desperate to protect:

"[former Chief Manuel] Cachopa was convicted Jan. 23 of this year of being an accessory to attempted extortion. Prosecutors said he used his authority as chief to threaten Hills to drop a complaint of misconduct against Cohen. His sentencing is set for this month."

Sounds like they had a regular Mafia-type strong-arm operation going on up there.

Our congratulations and admiration go to Detective Welch for doing his job in such a complete and professional fashion despite intense official pressure to overlook other officers' wrongdoing, and for bravely exposing the corruption in his own department, not an easy task for people in any line of work, but something that's truly difficult in police departments because of the all-too-common "blue wall of silence" found there.

Maybe Stoughton should strongly consider hiring Welch as their next chief.