METHUEN, Mass.- Former Methuen Police Chief Joseph Solomon is expected to plead guilty to charges including fraud and perjury and serve time in jail under an agreement announced by Methuen Mayor D.J. Beauregard.
Solomon is expected to plead guilty to all 17 charges against him. The agreement also calls for jail time and probation.
The charges include two counts of perjury by written affidavit, seven counts of obtaining unwarranted privileges in violation of civil service laws, six civil service law violations, one count of uttering a forged document and one count of procurement fraud.
Beauregard said discussions as recently as the previous week had not included jail time. He said he made clear that the City of Methuen would not accept an agreement allowing Solomon to avoid incarceration.
“While I would have preferred a longer jail sentence, the length of that sentence is not within the City’s control,” Beauregard said.
According to the mayor, the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, the Office of the Attorney General and the City are now in agreement on the resolution.
Under the agreement, Solomon will also remain on probation. As a consequence of the convictions, he will lose his City pension, his license to carry a firearm and his private investigator’s license, Beauregard said.
The loss of Solomon’s pension is expected to reduce the City’s unfunded pension liability by approximately $3.7 million over the next 20 years. The City will also pursue available avenues to recover approximately $1 million in pension payments made to Solomon since his retirement in 2020, according to Beauregard.
Beauregard said the case has represented a breach of public trust in Methuen and credited the late Mayor Neil Perry, former Police Chief Scott McNamara and others with continuing to pursue accountability.
“Next Friday, we will be able to close this painful chapter and move forward together as a city,” Beauregard said.
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