Kevin Dorgan, who had worked within Everett's IT department before becoming its director, was arrested at his Everett home last week and arraigned on a felony larceny charge accusing him of siphoning more than $98,000 in taxpayer money through the city's business Amazon account. Authorities say the former Information Technology Director used that account to order more than 700 items to his house between 2020 and 2026, many of them with no apparent connection to his job.
Hundreds of Packages, Little Explanation
Dorgan was arraigned at Malden District Court on September 11, according to Boston 25 News, and was released on personal recognizance. Malden District Court is listed on Mass.gov. As conditions of his release, Dorgan must stay away from Everett City Hall and is barred from contacting current or former city employees.
The Middlesex County District Attorney's office said the more than 700 items shipped to Dorgan's home were valued at over $98,000, and that more than 400 of those purchases had no link to his employment. The station's report notes the items allegedly included electric razors, bedding, clothing, Blu-ray players, video games, and Apple AirPods — an eclectic haul for someone whose job was supposed to involve outfitting a municipal IT department, not his own household.
Packages Piled Up After His Firing
The City of Everett fired Dorgan in March, and it was only afterward that the scale of the alleged scheme reportedly came into focus. Per the same account, the city conducted an inventory of Dorgan's office and other spaces and found numerous unopened and stacked packages, ultimately determining the pattern of purchases to be fraudulent. Everett officials have said they plan a full review of Dorgan's purchases going back through the multi-year period covered by the charge.
Dorgan had been a fixture in Everett's municipal government since well before the alleged scheme began. He was first appointed Director of Information Technology in January 2016 by Mayor Carlo DeMaria, after four years working within the city's IT department and a previous stint as an independent computer consultant, according to the Everett Independent. The City Council reappointed him in May 2024 for a term that was set to run through January 5, 2026, the paper also reported — meaning city leadership renewed its trust in him during the very stretch when the alleged Amazon misuse was underway.
A Six-Figure Salary, and a Six-Figure Allegation
Everett's Fiscal Year 2024 budget documents provide context for the city's operations, according to the City of Everett. That same fiscal year, routine online purchasing for tech supplies could obscure years of non-work orders until the packages physically piled up.
Everett's staff directory lists Norilyz Valentin as Chief Information Officer.
How Prosecutors Built a Single Felony Count
Although Dorgan faces just one charge of larceny over $1,200, Massachusetts law allows prosecutors to aggregate hundreds of individual lower-value unauthorized purchases into a single felony count under the “larceny by single scheme” doctrine, which applies when repeated thefts occur under a continuous fraudulent plan, according to the Law Office of Patrick Donovan. That doctrine can allow repeated unauthorized purchases to be folded into one felony larceny charge rather than hundreds of smaller ones.
The felony threshold itself was raised from $250 to $1,200 in 2018 under the state's Criminal Justice Reform Act, per the Law Office of Frank D. Camera and Associates, P.C. If convicted under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 266, Section 30, Dorgan could face up to five years in state prison or up to two years in a county house of correction, along with fines reaching $25,000, according to the Serpa Law Office.
A Familiar Pattern in Massachusetts Town Halls
Dorgan's case concerns alleged personal purchases made through a municipal Amazon business account.
Dorgan's case is scheduled to return to Malden District Court for a pretrial conference on October 22.
