An independent investigation into the death of Massachusetts State Police Trooper Enrique Delgado-Garcia has cost $309,776, according to records obtained by MassLive.
Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s Office provided invoice statements paid to private defense attorney David Meier and his investigative team since his appointment as a special prosecutor. The invoice statements were provided in response to a records request.
The invoice statements reveal that Meier’s investigation has billed for 722 hours from Sept. 19 to the end of April, and includes disbursement payments for his investigatory team, flash drives, audio transcriptions and other services.
The original contract signed on Oct. 7, 2024, was amended on Feb. 5 and authorized several investigators to join Meier’s team:
- Gretchen Lundgren, the founder and CEO of Mission Advisory Group, a firm with licensed private investigators
- Kimberly Lawrence, a former supervisory special agent for the FBI and a senior security specialist for The Edward Davis Company
- Norma Ayala Leong, who spent 35 years with the Boston Police Department and is currently a security specialist for The Edward Davis Company
- Lisa Holmes, a retired Boston police deputy superintendent
- Paul Joyce, a Boston police officer for 28 years and former superintendent
- Thomas Larned, a former assistant special agent with the FBI’s Boston branch
- Robert Harrington, a former Boston police superintendent who worked in the homicide unit
Both contracts listed June 30 as the end date. Meier’s pay is listed at $500 an hour, while investigators are listed at $100 an hour.
Campbell’s office did not return a request for comment on Wednesday.
Campbell appointed Meier to lead the investigation into Delgado-Garcia’s death last fall.
State police officials said he became unresponsive during a defensive tactics training exercise at the Massachusetts State Police Academy in New Braintree on Sept. 12.
The following day, the 25-year-old from Worcester died at a hospital. State police swore Delgado-Garcia in as a trooper hours before he died.
Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early’s Office had jurisdiction to investigate his death, but Early recused himself because Delgado-Garcia previously worked as a victim-witness advocate in that office.
Early said at the time that the incident happened in the boxing ring and that a video existed.
Meier previously ran the homicide unit at the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office under Dan Conley.
The contract between Meier and the attorney general’s office states he will have the authority to build his own investigative team and autonomy to make decisions in the investigation. The contract also states that nothing in the agreement is contingent upon reporting a specific result, conclusion or professional opinion.
The state police are not playing a role in the investigation, according to the documents provided by Campbell’s office.
State police announced last month that there were several reforms made to the academy’s training program for upcoming cohorts, including eliminating the boxing program.
