Spotlight: Ode to the tipster

 

March 27, 2026

Gordon Russell Deputy Spotlight Editor 📥 gordon.russell@globe.com

One of the great joys of working on an investigative team is that people send in tips all the time — not cash, but leads, things that need to be looked into. And thanks to the reputation Spotlight has built over the decades, our tip jar is often overflowing. I'd be lying if I said all these tips were winners. Some are downright batty. But we read every one of them carefully, and some of them are freaking gems. One such tip came in quite a while ago, and it alleged startling corruption on the part of two former commuter rail conductors. The tipster, who was anonymous, seemed very knowledgeable, and we started investigating. It was a frustrating journey in many ways — largely because the MBTA and the private company that runs its commuter-rail operations, Keolis, refused to answer almost all of our questions.  But they did confirm the broad contours of what our source said: That tens of thousands of dollars had gone missing, and that two conductors resigned under investigation. Here's the story. I wish we had more answers for you (and I wish our public officials felt like they owed us more of an explanation).  But we wouldn't know any of this if it weren't for you — our wonderful tipsters. Keep 'em coming! Send tips and feedback to spotlight@globe.com. Or snail-mail them, as this tipster did, to me, c/o Globe Spotlight Team, 1 Exchange Place, Boston, MA 02109.

Commuter rail operator Keolis wired $35,000 to the MBTA — after the Globe asked about missing money

Joey Flechas Investigative Reporter 📥 joey.flechas@globe.com

Six years after investigators discovered a troubling pattern of thousands of dollars in fare money going missing, the private company that operates the state’s commuter rail system wired $35,000 to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority last August to cover the discrepancy. The repayment is a tacit acknowledgment that two conductors improperly handled fares totaling tens of thousands of dollars. The amount barely qualifies as a rounding error for Keolis Commuter Services: The state pays the firm nearly $400 million a year to run the rail service under a long-term contract set to expire in June 2027. But the payout could take on larger significance as the T considers a Keolis-led consortium and two other bidders for the contract to run the commuter rail for the next decade or so. The reimbursement was made only after the Globe began inquiring about missing money tied to a failure by two specific train conductors to turn in collected fares. A tipster provided the Globe with the names of the conductors and said Keolis had kept quiet about the missing money after discovering the problem.

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State Police trooper charged in fatal 2023 crash, accused of driving drunk More than two years after he received only a ticket for a crash that ultimately killed a disabled man, a State Police sergeant was indicted Thursday on a charge that he was driving drunk and is responsible for the man’s death. (Read more)

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Have a tip about wrongdoing, corruption, or injustice? The Globe Spotlight Team wants to hear from you. Click here to send us an email.

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