Former Methuen Police Chief Joseph Solomon pleads not guilty to corruption, fraud charges
SALEM - The former police chief of Methuen and a former detective both pleaded not guilty to corruption and fraud charges at Essex County Superior Court on Friday.
Investigators said Joseph Solomon "repeatedly misused his position of authority as police chief to repeatedly undermine the law for his own benefit." Among the allegations are that Solomon hired six part-time officers and then appointed them to full-time roles, which is against the civil service law.
"He assigned those individuals to full-time positions in violation of the civil service law and gave them other benefits and employment benefits that were not otherwise available to other similarly situated individuals," Assistant Attorney General Douglas Sheehan told the court Friday.
Former detective Sean Fountain was one of those hired. He's accused of lying about graduating from the Northeast Regional Police Institute in 1996 and producing a forged certificate that Solomon knew about.
At their arraignment, the judge ruled both men can't contact anyone on the witness list and can't be around guns. Solomon is also not allowed to travel out of state and Fountain can only travel to New Hampshire to take his child to school.
Both men are due back in court on Jan. 23 for their next hearing.