North Shore sheriff blows thousands of dollars in public money at upscale restaurants from Danvers to Florida | Quick Hits |
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We’re paying for this? North Shore lawman and his posse tuck into filet mignon and lobster tails at public expense in the most outrageous case yet of local sheriffs wasting taxpayer dollars, a Contrarian Boston investigation finds
By Colman M. Herman
As an investigative reporter, I sometimes worry that I will not be able to find my next story. But our Massachusetts county sheriffs, with their irresponsible, shameless, over-the-top wasting of taxpayer money on things such as gourmet meals, have been giving this reporter a gift that keeps on giving.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve reported on the financial shenanigans of three county sheriffs: Steven Tompkins, the embattled sheriff of Suffolk County; Donna Buckley, the Barnstable County sheriff; and Robert Ogden, the Dukes County sheriff -- all three of them poster children for living high on the hog and sticking taxpayers with the bill.
Well today, dear readers, I’d like you to meet and greet still another sheriff with a big appetite. Say hello to the entitled Kevin Coppinger, the sheriff of Essex County.
Between September 2024 and August 2025, Coppinger shelled out nearly $39,000 of taxpayer money on hotels, airfare, meals, catered events, and registration fees, according to public records obtained by Contrarian Boston.
