By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
The New Hampshire State Troopers interviewed as part of the investigation into alleged illegal actions taken by Department of Safety Commissioner Robert Quinn refused to talk, and have since been rewarded for their silence, according to attorney Andrea Amodeo-Vickery.
“They all got promoted,” Amodeo-Vickery told InDepthNH.org.
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office started an investigation into Quinn after he allegedly pressured a Department of Safety employee to run a background check on a friend in order to help the friend get a permit to carry a firearm.
Michael Garrity, spokesman for New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella, declined to say if any investigation took place, telling InDepthNH.org privacy concerns prohibited disclosing the existence of an investigation.
But, Amodeo-Vickery said at least three troopers were questioned by the Attorney General’s Office, as was her client, former Department of Safety employee Tiffany Foss.
“The investigator is a very good guy, but the troopers buttoned up, they wouldn’t talk. The only one who talked was Tiffany,” Amodeo-Vickery.
Amodeo-Vickery and Foss filed a complaint Wednesday with the New Hampshire Department of Labor seeking whistleblower protection against Quinn. Foss left the Department of Safety for a position with the Department of Health and Human Services, but fears retaliation.
“She felt she needed to file the complaint to be protected from him even though she doesn’t work for him anymore,” Amodeo-Vickery said. “He has a long reach in this state.”
Quinn’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Foss received an email from a Department of Safety employee in October of last year after that employee, Elias Furey, became uneasy with the situation.
Quinn allegedly called a State Police Trooper to ask Furey to run the background check on Quinn’s acquaintance. Furey was uncomfortable with the situation. Running improper background checks is a felony in New Hampshire. Last week, Formella’s office dropped charges against former Ossipee police sergeant Justin Swift as part of a plea agreement.
Swift is getting added to the state’s Exculpatory Evidence Schedule, also known as the Laurie List, and is being decertified by the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Council, meaning he cannot work as a police officer in New Hampshire, as part of the deal to have the charges dropped.
According to public records, Swift used Ossipee’s SPOTS system to search the license plate of a motorcycle in which his wife was a passenger.
In Quinn’s case, his friend was counseled on how to clean up his criminal record in Massachusetts so that he would be able to qualify for a firearms license in that state, according to Furey’s email.
Foss alerted her superior’s about Furey’s email, telling them it is a legal problem for the department.
“This is HIGHLY illegal and will possibly be an issue on our audit in 2022,” Foss wrote.
However, legal consequences don’t seem to be in the cards. The Attorney General’s Office referred the matter back to the State Police with a recommendation of an internal investigation into the troopers, Amodeo-Vickery said.
That did not happen, and instead the troopers involved got promotions, and Foss had to seek legal protection, Amodeo-Vickery said.
“(Foss) is concerned that Commissioner Quinn is treated differently than every person in New Hampshire,” Amodeo-Vickery said.
John Scippa, the executive director with Police Standards and Training, said that a police officer credibly accused of breaking the law would be investigated, and then called before the council for possible decertification. Scippa would not comment on the allegations against Quinn.
“Every time there’s an allegation it has to be investigated,” Scippa said.
Quinn, who retired from state police in 2010, was appointed to lead the Department of Safety by Gov. Chris Sununu in 2019 after serving as assistant commissioner. When Quinn retired he gave up his certification, Scippa said.
“He’s not a police officer, so there’s no police certification for us to consider,” Scippa said.
Amodeo-Vickery said any police officer in the state facing similar accusation would be facing serious consequences even including possible loss of certification.
“Commissioner Quinn should be put on the EES list,” she said. “That’s what would happen to any other State Trooper and Police Officer in the state.”
Quinn remains head of the Department of Safety. He’s currently paid $141,858 a year in salary while also collecting a little more than $90,000 a year in pension benefits.
Foss is concerned about legal consequences, however, Amodeo-Vickery. She is seeking the whistleblower complaint, in part, because she is concerned she will be blamed for leaking the emails to the press. Amodeo-Vickery said the emails were sent to multiple media outlets, and her client had nothing to do with the leak.
“It’s absurd. She did not leak it,” Amodeo-Vickery said.